C. Difficile Treatment: Merck's New Antibody Shows Promise In Treating Infection - Immortal News

Merck & Co.’s new antibody is showing great promise in treating the Clostridium difficile bacterium, according to Reuters. In these trial studies, patients have experienced a 10 percent reduction in the recurrence of this potentially deadly disease.

The antibody, bezlotoxumab, was licensed to Merck in 2009 from the University of Massachusetts Medical School MassBiologics, as per a report from Medical News Today. Merck stressed that the experimental treatment is not an antibiotic.  Instead, bezlotoxumab is a “selective, fully-human, monoclonal antibody designed to neutralize C. difficile toxin B.” It is designed to block the ability of the bacteria’s toxins to bind to cells, significantly reducing its ability to recur after treatment.

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