(IFOS) - Lower costs and lower recurrence rates with moxifloxacin compared with levofloxacin

ROME, ITALY, June 29, 2005 - A new study presented at the 18th World Congress of the International Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (IFOS) demonstrated in a retrospective database study that patients with acute sinusitis who received the fluoroquinolone antibiotic Avelox ® (moxifloxacin HCl) experienced better outcomes than those treated with levofloxacin. The study presented at IFOS showed that patients with acute sinusitis (AS) who took Avelox experienced significantly lower probability of recurrence or treatment failure, a shorter duration of therapy and less costs than patients who took levofloxacin.

"The robust results measured against another widely-known fluoroquinolone confirm our hypothesis that Avelox is an excellent treatment option when a fluoroquinolone is indicated for acute sinusitis" said Dr. Howard Friedman, lead author of the study and owner of Friedman Analytic Consulting Inc., NY, USA.

The labeled recommendation for treatment duration for acute bacterial sinusitis is 10 days for Avelox and 10-14 days for levofloxacin.

In a separate study presented at IFOS, it was shown that chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) patients taking Avelox experienced shorter treatment duration, lower costs and a lower risk of any sinusitis recurrence, with similar outcomes to those taking levofloxacin.

Acute Sinusitis is a very common infection affecting 1 - 5% of adults in Europe annually. The infection is one of the most frequent conditions for which an antibiotic is prescribed. While acute bacterial sinusitis usually lasts for three weeks or less, CRS usually persists for more than 12 weeks. ,

In Europe, CRS can cause €1,861 in direct costs per patient per year. The co-incidence of sinusitis in diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis also translates to mean that as much as 15% of medical costs of these diseases are attributable to sinusitis.

In terms of indirect costs, sinusitis is one of the top ten most costly health conditions in the U.S. and has a significant impact on healthcare payments as well as absenteeism and disability. It is responsible for more than 70 million days of missed work and restricted activity in the U.S.

"Sinusitis represents a significant burden to patients and to health systems in general," said Dr. Friedman. "The favorable outcomes from Avelox treatment, combined with relatively lower costs within a shorter therapy duration, may help to reduce this burden."

About The Study
To provide a real-world comparison, the study authors drew on the PharMetrics database that includes information from multiple health plans, containing demographic information and medical and pharmaceutical claims for more than 55 million covered lives with over two billion health care transactions, including prescriptions, office visits, hospital stays, diagnostic tests and data on Medicare Risk patients.

For AS patients, the duration of Avelox usage compared to levofloxacin was 1.65 fewer days for the original prescription for the episode and 2.06 fewer total days of monotherapy per episode. The average duration of therapy in the Avelox group was 10.4 days compared with 12.4 days in the levofloxacin group. Despite the shorter durations, Avelox performed significantly better than levofloxacin on clinical outcomes with a 36% lower probability of recurrence and 26% lower odds of treatment failure. In terms of costs, the average total treatment charges were significantly lower in the Avelox-initiated group.

About Avelox
In Europe, Avelox tablets are approved to treat Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP), except severe cases, Acute Bacterial Sinusitis (ABS), adequately diagnosed, and Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Bronchitis (AECB).

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