RARITAN, N.J., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. announced that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for doripenem, an investigational carbapenem antibiotic for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal and complicated urinary tract infections. Doripenem has demonstrated activity against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria including Pseudomonas.

Doripenem belongs to a class of antibacterial agents called carbapenems, which are useful in treating life-threatening infections caused by Gram-positive and resistant Gram-negative bacteria.

Pseudomonas, a Gram-negative bacterium, is one of the leading causes of resistant hospital-acquired infections for which treatment options are limited. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and numerous other agencies and health organizations have identified antibiotic resistance as a serious threat to public health. The Infectious Disease Society of America estimates that approximately 2 million people acquire bacterial infections in U.S. hospitals each year. Of those 2 million patients, 90,000 people die as a result. The CDC estimates that approximately 70 percent of those fatal infections are resistant to at least one drug.

Pending regulatory approval, doripenem will be marketed in the United States by Ortho-McNeil, Inc. Doripenem is licensed from Shionogi & Co., Ltd.

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. (J&JPRD) is part of Johnson & Johnson, the world's most broad-based producer of healthcare products. J&JPRD is headquartered in Raritan, New Jersey (USA), and has facilities throughout Europe and the United States. J&JPRD is leveraging drug discovery and drug development in a variety of therapeutic areas to address unmet medical needs worldwide.

Ortho-McNeil, Inc.

Ortho-McNeil, Inc. is dedicated to providing innovative prescription medicines to advance patient care. Headquartered in Raritan, New Jersey, the company markets products to treat infectious diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, and pain. For more information, visit www.ortho-mcneil.com.

(This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the Company's expectations and projections. Risks and uncertainties include general industry conditions and competition; economic conditions, such as interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; technological advances and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approvals; domestic and foreign health care reforms and governmental laws and regulations; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Exhibit 99 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2006. Copies of this Form 10-K, as well as subsequent filings, are available online at www.sec.gov or on request from the Company. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments.)

For more information on Johnson & Johnson, please visit the Company's website at http://www.jnj.com.

SOURCE Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.