LA BioMed Team to Study Treatments for Antibiotic-Resistant Skin Infections

Investigators from LA BioMed have scored a $5.3M grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the effectiveness of treatments for antibiotic-resistant skin infections.

The study, Short and Long Term Outcomes of Doxycycline Versus Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole for Skin and Soft Tissue Infections Treatment, is slated to enroll 462 patients with skin infections who will be monitored for a year. The investigators will examine how well certain antibiotics treat infections, how infections recur and how those that do recur can be prevented. 

The first participants will be enrolled in the clinical trial later this month. Along with studying the effectiveness of skin infection therapies, the grant funding will also allow investigators to give comprehensive and accurate descriptions detailing individual and group outcomes from the clinical trials. Additionally, investigators will use professional and experienced community partners throughout the trial, to ensure patient needs are met while they are enrolled in the trials.

The frequency of skin infections has risen 50 percent through the last decade. There are more than 10 million skin infections annually in the U.S., costing our health system about $8 billion a year. Many of these skin infections are caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

“We will soon have important answers about a disease that strikes with increasing frequency,” says David Meyer, Ph.D, LA BioMed President and CEO, in a news release. “The NIH grant will allow LA BioMed investigators to launch an in-depth and comprehensive clinical trial into one of the world’s most poorly-understood infectious diseases.”

“Skin infections are among the most common infections seen in urgent care, emergency departments and clinics across the world,” adds Loren Miller, MD, MPH, Associate Chief in the Division of Adult Infectious Diseases at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Principal Investigator at LA BioMed. “But physicians just don’t have a good handle on what are the most effective and safest drugs to treat skin infections. We’re trying to answer that important question and provide evidence that could lead to more effective treatments.”