KALAMAZOO, Mich., Sept. 20 1995 -- A new class of antibiotics under investigation at The Upjohn Company (NYSE: UPJ) may show activity against drug-resistant strains of life-threatening diseases, according to test-tube and animal data presented today at the largest infectious disease conference in the United States. Antibiotic resistance is widely acknowledged to be one of the most pressing medical problems facing the world today.

Preliminary human safety data presented at the conference on Upjohn's lead compound suggest that it is reasonable to proceed with a clinical development program.

"If clinical trials confirm the potential promise of these compounds, physicians will have important new weapons to use against a broad range of community- and hospital-acquired infections -- including infections that have become resistant to many or all of the antibiotics now available," said oxazolidinone investigator Ronald N. Jones, M.D., Professor of Pathology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine.

ABOUT THE NEW DATA

A total of 25 studies were presented today at the 35th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco on oxazolidinone compounds from Upjohn. Oxazolidinones, which can be administered orally as well as intravenously, are the first new class of antibiotics to be showcased at this important meeting in a number of years.

According to the test-tube and animal studies, oxazolidinones show significant activity against a broad range of gram-positive organisms, including drug-resistant and sensitive, strains of:

* Streptococcus pneumoniae, the leading cause of illness and death from infection in the U.S.;

* staphylococcal and enterococcal bacteria, the leading causes of hospital-acquired infections in the U.S., such as urinary tract and wound infections.

Early Phase I data on Upjohn's lead compound suggest that, as with other antibiotics, the most common side-effects are gastrointestinal. "Oxazolidinones are likely to command considerable attention in light of the urgent need for new therapeutic options," said Charles W. Ford, Ph.D., who with Upjohn colleague Steven J. Brickner, Ph.D., has worked since 1987 to develop these novel drugs. "We are encouraged by the fact that preliminary human data suggest these compounds may be appropriate for administration to patients," Ford added.

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE

The incidence of antibiotic-resistant disease strains is growing rapidly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

* 13,300 U.S. hospital patients died in 1992 of bacterial infections that resisted the antibiotics prescribed.

* there was a 150 percent increase in drug-resistant pneumococci between 1987 and 1994; last year, about 16 percent of pneumococcal infections were caused by antibiotic-resistant strains;

* there was a 20-fold increase in the hospital-acquired enterococci resistant to vancomycin -- the treatment of last resort -- between 1989 and 1993 (from 0.3 percent to about 8 percent);

* about 32 percent of Staphylococcus aureus strains were resistant to methicillin -- the mainstay treatment -- in 1992, compared to about 2 percent in 1975.

"The implications of antibiotic resistance are enormous," said oxazolidinone investigator George M. Eliopoulos, M.D., Associate Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Deaconess Hospital in Boston. "Patients infected with resistant disease strains are more likely to be hospitalized -- or hospitalized for longer periods of time -- and to require more expensive therapies than patients with non-resistant disease strains. More importantly, they are at greater risk for treatment failure."

UPJOHN'S RESEARCH PROGRAM

The Upjohn Company established a worldwide development program for oxazolidinones eight years ago. The company's two lead compounds are in Phase I development. One or both may enter Phase II in early 1996.

The Upjohn Company is a worldwide, research-based provider of human health care products, animal health products and specialty chemicals. Headquartered in Kalamazoo, Mich., the company has been dedicated to improving health and nutrition for more than a century.

The Upjohn Company and Pharmacia AB of Sweden recently announced an agreement to merge their worldwide operations. Upon approval of the merger by shareholders, the new company, Pharmacia & Upjohn, Inc., will rank among the world's top ten pharmaceutical companies. The new company is expected to begin operating in late 1995. Pharmacia & Upjohn will have a broad product portfolio, a strong presence in the world's major markets and annual research and development expenditures exceeding $1 billion.

CONTACT: (During ICAAC) MaryEllen O'Donohue, 212-213-7065, or Godfrey Grant, Beeper: 415-560-2629, or (Post-ICAAC), 616-323-5959, both of Upjohn