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Pharmacia antibiotic OK'd
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April 18, 2000: 1:59 p.m. ET
New treatment Zyvox designed to battle 'superbugs' resistant to other drugs
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Federal regulators on Tuesday approved an antibiotic developed by Pharmacia Corp., the first in a new class of medicines designed to treat so-called "superbugs" commonly found in hospitals and nursing homes.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the drug, called Zyvox, to treat pneumonia and some types of infections that are resistant to other antibiotics.
 The drug, part of a new class of antibiotics called oxazolidinones, is designed to attack bacteria by blocking protein production at the early growth stages. In clinical studies, Zyvox had promising results in fighting off vancomycin-resistant enteroccus infections - infections resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic commonly prescribed in hospitals.
Potential side effects include headaches, nausea and diarrhea. The generic name for the antibiotic is Linezolid.
Pharmacia (PHA: Research, Estimates) was formed earlier this month through the merger of Pharmacia & Upjohn and Monsanto Co. The company's shares slipped 1-5/16 to 52-13/16 in afternoon trading Tuesday. 
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Pharmacia Corp.
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