Pfizer has announced that Zavicefta, a novel combination antibiotic for the treatment of patients with certain confirmed or suspected Gram-negative bacterial infections requiring hospitalization, is now available in the UK and Germany. Pfizer expects to launch Zavicefta in additional markets outside the US throughout 2017 and 2018. Zavicefta was developed in response to the urgent medical need for new antibiotics for difficult-to-treat Gram-negative bacteria, many of which have become increasingly resistant to currently available antibiotics.
In June 2016, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the marketing authorization for Zavicefta based on an extensive clinical trial programme. Zavicefta is indicated for the treatment of adults with complicated intra-abdominal infection (cIAI), complicated urinary tract infection (cUTI) and Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (HAP), including Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP). Zavicefta is also indicated for the treatment of infections due to aerobic Gram-negative organisms in adult patients with limited treatment options. Zavicefta addresses Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and Enterobacteriaceae, two of three “critical” pathogens recently identified by the World Health Organization (WHO). In many markets, existing treatments do not consistently address these resistant pathogens adequately.
“Multidrug-resistant (MDR) infections are an increasing global threat. The availability of Zavicefta is a major step forward for physicians faced with the challenge of treating patients with known or suspected MDR infections,” said Dr. Matteo Bassetti, Chief of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at University of Udine in Italy.
“The launch of Zavicefta reaffirms Pfizer’s longstanding heritage and commitment to patients facing serious infectious diseases,” said Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall, executive vice president and chief medical officer of pfizer. “We continue to search for solutions to one of humanity’s most pressing challenges—defeating the microbes that cause infection and misery.”