Optimer antiobiotic fares well in clinical trials

NEW YORK A clinical trial has indicated that a new antibiotic developed by Optimer Pharmaceuticals is effective against a bacteria that can cause symptoms severe enough to require removal of the colon.

The bacteria, Clostridium difficile, causes severe diarrhea and kills thousands people in the United States annually. Experts have said that it infects more people than the deadly MRSA strain of staphylococcus.