EXTON, Pa., Oct. 10, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- ViroPharma Incorporated (Nasdaq:VPHM) today announced that the company has provided an unrestricted educational grant supporting the 'Clostridium difficile-Associated Disease (CDAD) Surveillance Project', designed to apprise clinicians and governmental healthcare agencies of the current state of CDAD in the United States, including the spread of the more virulent Toxinotype III (BI) strain. The project was launched during the 43rd Annual Meeting of IDSA.
"The epidemiology of CDAD is changing dramatically, particularly in the U.S. and Canada. As an industry leader in the CDAD field, ViroPharma has a responsibility to physicians, and patients suffering from C. difficile infections, to do our part in providing a greater level of understanding about this disease," commented Colin Broom, M.D., ViroPharma's chief scientific officer. "Because CDAD is currently not a 'reportable' disease, only sporadic information on the current state of the disease is available to practitioners and agencies. We are sponsoring this important surveillance project to allow clinicians, healthcare organizations, and governmental agencies to better understand the epidemiology and current treatment practices of CDAD throughout the U.S. in a timelier manner."
Dr. Broom continued, "Importantly, clinicians will also be able to benchmark their institutional CDAD experience with that of similar participating institutions, allowing peer-to-peer education and better preparation for such outbreaks. We are delighted to be sponsors of this vital surveillance project, and to continue our efforts in helping clinicians identify and treat patients with severe C. difficile disease."
The CDAD Surveillance Project was designed to provide physicians and institutions a tool to better understand the epidemiology of CDAD, current treatment practices, and the spread of the Toxinotype III strain, which has been implicated as the bacterial cause of the more severe form of the disease currently circulating in hospitals in Canada, Europe, and multiple states in the U.S. It was designed to provide an ongoing database of real-time information on the increase in incidence and severity of C. difficile infections to practicing clinicians and governmental agencies, in an effort to keep them abreast of the current state of disease. In addition, through peer-to-peer comparison, clinicians will have access to comparative data from other similar participating institutions, to allow benchmarking of treatment and decontamination practices, as they relate to outbreaks of C. difficile.
C. difficile is a bacterium, which under certain circumstances, including after antibiotic therapy, can colonize the lower gastrointestinal tract where it may produce toxins which cause inflammation of the colon and diarrhea, and the associated complications of disease. Advanced age, gastrointestinal surgery/manipulation, long length of stay in healthcare settings, a serious underlying illness and immunocompromising conditions are associated with increased risk of disease. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are approximately 3,000,000 cases of antibiotic-associated diarrhea per year, of which 15 to 25 percent are caused by C. difficile.
About ViroPharma Incorporated
ViroPharma Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of products that address serious diseases treated by physician specialists and in hospital settings. ViroPharma commercializes Vancocin(r), approved for oral administration for treatment of antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis caused by Clostridium difficile and enterocolitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant strains (for prescribing information, please download the package insert at http://www.viropharma.com/docs/pulvules_pi.pdf). ViroPharma currently focuses its drug development activities in viral diseases including cytomegalovirus (CMV) and hepatitis C (HCV). For more information on ViroPharma, visit the company's Web site at www.viropharma.com.
Certain statements in this press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including those relating to continued increase in C. difficile disease incidence and severity. Our actual results could differ materially from those results expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. The commercialization of pharmaceutical products is subject to risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that there will be no decreases in the rate of infections for which Vancocin is prescribed or that the prescribing or procedural practices of infectious disease, gastroenterologists and internal medicine doctors will not change in a manner adverse to us. These factors, and other factors, including, but not limited to those described in ViroPharma's quarterly report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could cause future results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in this press release. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release may become outdated over time. ViroPharma does not assume any responsibility for updating any forward-looking statements.