Theravance Biopharma, Inc., announced that data from a new study assessing Vibativ, an approved antibiotic, will be featured in a poster presentation at the 26th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID). The data will emphasize Vibativ’s in vitro potency against a broad assortment of difficult-to-treat Staphylococcus aureus pathogens, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), the cause of hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia (HABP).
ECCMID 2016, organized by the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, will be held April 9-12 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The congress is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the fields of clinical microbiology, infectious diseases, and infection control.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), or nosocomial pneumonia, refers to any pneumonia contracted by a patient in a hospital setting at least 48–72 hours after being admitted. It is usually caused by a bacterial infection, rather than a virus. HAP is the second most common nosocomial infection (after urinary tract infections), accounting for 15–20 percent of these infections worldwide. It is the most common cause of death in nosocomial infections, and the primary cause of death in intensive care units.
The poster, “Analysis of the activity of telavancin tested against a global collection of Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates responsible for documented hospital-acquired pneumonia (2014)” (#P1356), will be presented on Monday, April 11, at the New and Old Antibiotics Against Gram-positive Cocci in vitro session, the company announced in a press release.
Vibativ (telavancin) is a once-daily, bactericidal injectable antibiotic with in vitro potency and a dual mechanism of action. The drug inhibits the wall synthesis in bacterial cells, and disrupts their membrane function. Vibativ’s effectiveness in treating difficult Gram-positive infections was shown in many multinational, large trials in MRSA patient groups.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Vibativ for the treatment of adult patients with hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (HABP/VABP) caused by isolates of S. aureus when other therapies are not appropriate.
Infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria represent a major public health burden, both in terms of morbidity and mortality, and in increased expenditure on patient management and implementation of infection control measures. S. aureus and Enterococcus spp. are established pathogens in the hospital environment, and their frequent multidrug resistance complicates therapy.