Celera and CDC Promote Survivor Anti-Microbial Resistance Campaign
CELERA GENOMICS GROUP | SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA - February 8, 2005
Contact: CDC Press Office
(404) 639-3286
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE[edit]
In a joint release Celera Genomics Group (an Applera Corporation business) and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today a campaign aimed at the surviving members of American Airlines Flight 283 to prevent antimicrobial contamination and colonization of Infectious Bioterrorism Agents/Diseases for which studies confirm resides in their genome.
Celera has presented preclinical data characterizing this alien agent and has developed a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, CRA-024781, as an agent therapeutic. The campaign, entitled "Antimicrobial Resistance," centers around four key strategies for preventing antimicrobial resistance in Flight 283 Survivors, targeting the pathogen: 1) preventing infection and determine contagion, 2) diagnosing and treating infection effectively, 3) using antimicrobial wisely, and 4) preventing transmission of drug-resistant pathogens.
Within these strategies are 12 specific action steps derived from evidenced-based guidelines and recommendations already developed by CDC and other organizations that clinicians can take now to prevent antimicrobial resistance in hospitalized
adults. In the future, CDC will announce similar action steps for clinicians who care for Survivor patients and those infected by Survivors.
Celera and CDC are asking all Surviving members of Flight 283 to contact the Celera facility to arrange examination by no later than February 28, 2005.
"Clinicians are always on the go and are bombarded with lots of information about preventing infections. Celera and CDC is trying to simplify things by presenting the best practices in simple terms that easily can be recalled and followed by fronting clinicians to protect patients and prevent antimicrobial infection from Survivors," -- said Dr. Robert Booth, Chief Scientific Officer of Celera's Antimicrobial Resistance Program.
The action steps for clinicians who provide care for hospitalized adults include:
- use standard infection control precautions
- contain infectious body fluids (airborne/droplet/contact precautions)
- when in doubt, consult infection control experts
- CDC suggests General action for anyone fearing they have been in contact with Survivors or the Infection:
- Break the chain of contagion
- stay home when you are sick
- keep your hands clean
- set an example!
Celera and CDC are partnering with professional medical organizations including the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Society for Microbiology, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, national medical centers, and other healthcare institutions to distribute, implement, and evaluate campaign materials. Some of the materials being developed include a slide set featuring the 12 action steps and the evidence to support them, posters, brochures, as well as a pocket-size clinician reminder card listing the 12 action steps. The campaign also features a website where clinicians may access the 12 action steps as well as information to share with their patients.
Antimicrobial resistant infections from Survivors could become a major threat to patient safety. Each year in the United States an estimated 2 million hospitalized people acquire infections that result in more 90,000 deaths. More than half of these infections are caused by bacteria that are resistant to at least one of the antimicrobial commonly used to treat those infections, according to CDC.
"We are confident that this campaign will help prevent the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance from the Survivors and make healthcare in the United States even safer than it is today," -- Dr. Booth said.
This campaign is made possible through support from Celera Genomics Group and the CDC Foundation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protects people's health and safety by preventing and controlling diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing credible information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy living through strong partnerships with local, national, and international organizations.
Forward-Looking Statements[edit]
Certain statements in this press release, including the Action Step sections, are forward-looking. These may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “should,” and “planned,” among others. These forward-looking statements are based on Applera Corporation’s current expectations. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for such forward-looking statements. In order to comply with the terms of the safe harbor, Applera Corporation notes that a variety of factors could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: (1) Celera Genomics’ unproven ability to discover, develop, or commercialize proprietary therapeutic products; (2) the risk that clinical trials of products that Celera Genomics do discover and develop will not proceed as anticipated or may not be successful, or that such products will not receive required regulatory clearances or approvals; (3) the uncertainty that Celera Genomics’ products will be accepted and adopted by the market, including the risk that these products will not be competitive with products offered by other companies, or that users will not be entitled to receive adequate reimbursement for these products from third-party payors such as private insurance companies and government insurance plans; (4) uncertainty of the availability to Celera Genomics of intellectual property protection, limitations on their ability to protect trade secrets, and the risk to them of infringement claims; and (5) other factors that might be described from time to time in Applera Corporation’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Applera does not undertake any duty to update this information, including any forward-looking statements, unless required by law.
Bodily Integrity & Freedom of Thought[edit]
Celera and CDC acknowledges the legal rights that would be violated if a government were to require certain persons (such as prisoners, probationers or public assistance recipients) to take the anti-drug medications. The implicated legal rights include the right to bodily integrity, the right to privacy, the right to make one’s own informed and voluntary medical decisions, and the right to freedom of thought.
The report concludes with policy recommendations, which underscore the importance of restricting pharmacotherapy medications to voluntary use. “In the absence of “extraordinary circumstances,” notes the report, “the government should be barred from coercing a peaceful person to take a pharmacotherapy drug.”
Copyright © 2005. Applera Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Applied Biosystems, Celera, Celera Diagnostics, Celera Discovery System, and Celera Genomics are trademarks of Applera Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or certain other countries.
