MeMed Joins the CDC's Initiative for Addressing Antibiotic Resistance

TIRAT-CARMEL, Israel, November 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

MeMed Ltd. announced today its commitment to supporting the initiative of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to raise awareness of the threat of antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic use across all health care settings. The CDC, along with a broadening coalition of partners, will observe the eighth annual Get Smart About Antibiotics Week during November 16-22.  

Antibiotic resistance, which occurs when bacteria change in a way that reduces their sensitivity to antibiotics, is among the most pressing public health threats. The use of antibiotics is the single most important factor which contributes to antibiotic resistance, and up to 30-50% of antibiotic use in humans is either unnecessary or inappropriate. Get Smart About Antibiotics Week 2015 marks an important year, during which the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria laid out key actions for implementing the National Strategy.

"Everyone should be concerned about this issue because antibiotic resistance anywhere is antibiotic resistance everywhere," says Dr. Lauri Hicks, Director for CDC's Office of Antibiotic Stewardship. "In order to minimize the impact of antibiotic resistance, it is important that everyone only takes antibiotics prescribed for themselves, implement proper hand hygiene in their everyday routine, receives recommended vaccinations, and discusses their concerns about antibiotic resistance with their healthcare provider."

MeMed has a long commitment to promoting the appropriate use of antibiotics. In the last 6 years, MeMed has been developing new diagnostic tools designed to help physicians make better antibiotic treatment decisions. MeMed's innovative approach builds on an exquisitely informative system crafted by nature - the human immune system. "We have figured out how to decode the actions of the immune system doing what it does best - detecting and responding to the precise cause of infection", said Eran Eden, PhD, CEO of MeMed. In March the company published results of a large multi-center prospective clinical study validating the performance of a novel host-immune signature in determining if a patient has an acute bacterial or viral infection. This host-signature is the basis for MeMed's hospital-based diagnostic kit called ImmunoXpert™ - which has been approved for use in Europe and Israel. The success of MeMed's efforts was acknowledged recently by a €3M award from the European Commission to accelerate development of a point-of-care test that will help improve antimicrobial stewardship. MeMed is also a leading partner in the Tailored-Treatment, a multidisciplinary consortium that received a €6 million grant from the European Commission to develop novel omics-based personalized treatment schemes with potential to reduce antibiotic consumption. The company maintains an active webpage on the global antibiotic crisis that includes updated statistics.

Get Smart About Antibiotics Week in 2015 is the first annual World Antibiotic Awareness Week, designed to coincides with European Antibiotic Awareness Day, and other similar campaigns across the world. For additional information please visit http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart.

Contact:
MeMed, Ltd.
Asi Cohen, PhD
[email protected]
+972-4-8500302, x 109

SOURCE MeMed Ltd