New oral medication shows promise for more quickly treating MRSA skin infections, researchers find

A new oral antibiotic may effectively treat MRSA-related skin infections more quickly than the only oral drug currently approved, according to research published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers led by Philippe Prokocimer, M.D., the chief medical officer at Trius Therapeutics Inc., compared the effectiveness of tedizolid phosphate with linezolid. Linezolid is the only oral medication currently approved to treat certain skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA).

The acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (SSSIs) caused by MRSA can be fatal, and there have been outbreaks of linezolid-resistant strains of MRSA, the researchers noted.

In a 667-person trial carried out in North America, Latin America and Europe, participants received either a daily dose of tedizolid phosphate for six days or a dose of linezolid every 12 hours for 10 days.

Based on clinical outcomes, the researchers determined the newer drug is “clinically noninferior” to linezolid.

Nursing homes experience a high rate of community-associated MRSA, according to a study in the March issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.