Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. announced Friday that its broad-spectrum antibiotic, Zevtera® (ceftobiprole medocaril) has been launched in Germany. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) estimates that every year approximately 25,000 people die from antibiotic-resistant healthcare-associated infections in the European Union.
The new broad-spectrum antibiotic supports the treatment of bacterial lung infections. Zevtera® is the only antibiotic monotherapy that is approved in certain European countries for the treatment of adults with community-acquired pneumonia and hospital-acquired pneumonia (excluding ventilator-associated pneumonia) with activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Gram-negative pathogens including Pseudomonas spp.
Ronald Scott, Basilea’s CEO, stated: “Zevtera’s launch in Germany marks an important milestone for Basilea. Antibiotic resistance is a major healthcare threat throughout Europe. We are very pleased to make ceftobiprole available to doctors and their patients, starting in Germany. Ceftobiprole provides physicians and pneumonia patients with a new option to treat severe bacterial infections.”
Focus: broad-spectrum antibiotic
Ceftobiprole is a new generation broad-spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic with rapid bactericidal activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria associated with pneumonia, including MRSA and Pseudomonas spp. Ceftobiprole is administered intravenously and is the active moiety of the prodrug ceftobiprole medocaril.
David Veitch, Basilea’s Chief Commercial Officer, added: “Zevtera provides physicians with a simplified empiric treatment option with its broad-spectrum activity reducing the need for combination treatments. This is an important advance in the empirical treatment of pneumonia.” He added: “Post-hoc analyses of phase 3 study data showed a more rapid effect for ceftobiprole as compared with a standard antibiotic combination in the treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia. An early improvement of patients’ overall clinical condition may translate into additional benefits, especially in an intensive care unit setting, such as the potential for earlier mobilization or discharge of the patient to a general ward.”
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