Peninsula Pharmaceuticals Inc and Shionogi & Co. Ltd have reached a licensing agreement for doripenem (also known as S-4661), a broad- spectrum antibiotic currently being studied in worldwide clinical trials. Peninsula has obtained exclusive rights including sublicense rights to develop and market doripenem in North America; Shionogi will manufacture the product for worldwide distribution.

The product, doripenem, is the newest member of the carbapenem class of antibacterials and displays broad in vitro potency against aerobic, anaerobic, gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Invented by Shionogi, doripenem has demonstrated potent in vitro efficacy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP). Current in vitro and in vivo data support its clinical development as a therapeutic agent for a number of serious bacterial infections.

"We are proud to be partnered with Shionogi and we feel our highly focused approach to development will help take doripenem further into the clinic and ultimately, the market," said Paul F. Truex, President, Peninsula Pharmaceuticals. "Shionogi has developed a cutting-edge strategy for seeking the best worldwide development options for their novel pharmaceutical products and our team is eager to validate their strategic decision."

The worldwide hospital antibacterial market exceeds $8 billion annually and the worldwide market for carbapenems (a member of the well known beta-lactam class of antibiotics) is close to $1.0B and growing. By 2006, the carbapenem market is expected to grow by 50% due to the ever increasing need for safe, powerful, broad-spectrum antibiotics to treat increasingly difficult and serious hospital infections.