LONDON: A new antibiotic drug claimed to be probably the biggest discovery since Penicillin has been developed by British scientists. Equally as potent as Penicillin, the new antibiotic, Ceporin, works even faster, will be cheaper to produce, and is successful with patients allergic to Penicillin, a Press conference was told here.

The `breakthrough` marks the end of a trend under which medical and scientific discoveries made in Britain are taken up and marketed by the Americans. Ceporin was developed and will be produced solely in Britain. A research team of hundreds spenteightyears onits discovery after spending one-and-a-half million sterling.

The firm which undertook it was Glaxo Laboratories. Dr F.J. Wikins, Managing Director of the Glaxo, told the Press conference that the discovery was `a major breakthrough for the British pharmaceutical industry`. Ceporin, he said, had been found to be highly successful in the treatment of infections in the lungs, kidneys, bladder and many other organs. About 2000 patients had been treated with Ceporin, he said, and the results were `miraculously rapid`. He added: `Another important feature is that it is non-toxic and so far absolutely no side effects had been observed.`-Reuters