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Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is abiopharmaceutical company headquartered inDenver,Colorado that develops prescription therapies based on a platform of proprietary surface active technologies—skin Barrier Repair Technology (BRT) and Cerageninis, a new class of broad spectrumanti-infectives.[1] The company discovers, develops and commercializes anti-infective drugs based on its proprietary class of compounds,Ceragenins. Active against a range ofgram positive andgram negativebacteria, these agents are being developed as anti-infective medical device coatings and as therapeutics for antibiotic-resistant organisms.
Ceragenix developedEpiCeram, a topical non-steroidal skin care cream based on the research of Peter Elias for the treatment ofatopic dermatitis (eczema).[2]
Ceragenix's second platform technology addressesmultidrug resistantbacterial andviral infections. The anti-infective technology is based on the research of Dr. Paul B. Savage, Professor and Associate Chair of Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry atBrigham Young University (BYU, Provo, Utah). These compounds areaminosterols that mimic the activity of the naturally occurringantimicrobial peptides which form part of thehuman immune system and early line of defense against bacterial, viruses, fungi and certain cancers. The Ceragenins have been the subject ofin vitro analysis and have demonstrated a range of action againstmethicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA),vancomycin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus (VRSA), tobramycin-resistantPseudomonas aeruginosa (PATR),Escherichia coli,vaccinia virus,HIV, andBacillus anthracis (anthrax) among others. The compounds work by breaching theouter membranes of their targets. The compounds are positively charged and are electrostatically attracted to the negatively chargedphospholipids that tend to distinguishprokaryotic fromeukaryotic cells.