The drug Vibativ could be effective against hard-to-treat bacteria, according to a study presented at the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) Microbe 2016 Conference, June 16 – 20, in Boston.
Developed by Theravance Biopharma, the medicine counteracted Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a hard-to-treat bacteria and a cause of lung infection. Vibativ also killed other difficult-to-treat bacteria, and was more effective than several widely prescribed antibiotics, including vancomycin, daptomycin and linezolid.
In a press release, Frank Pasqualone, the company’s senior vice president and global head of Acute Care Business, said the variety of difficult-to-treat, Gram-positive pathogens resistant to various widely-prescribed antibiotics continues to grow. Meanwhile, treatment challenges continue for healthcare workers worldwide.
“As we continue to evaluate Vibativ against a range of these infection-causing clinical isolates, we are impressed to consistently see that the drug has potent in vitro activity, regardless of the isolates’ phenotype and resistance profile. Importantly, in many cases, this potency is demonstrated to be several-fold greater than other antibiotics routinely used for the treatment of Gram-positive infections,” Pasqualone said.
Vibativ is an injectable medication that works in two ways: by inhibiting bacterial cell wall synthesis and by disrupting bacterial cell membranes.
“The threat of antibiotic resistance and how to best address this challenge remain topics of urgent discussion within the healthcare community,” said Dr. Jon Bruss, Theravance Biopharma’s vice president of Clinical Development & Medical Affairs. “S. aureus bacteremia, infective endocarditis and bone and joint infections are just the latest examples of difficult-to-treat pathogens against which Vibativ may have a therapeutic role.”
Vibativ is FDA approved for hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia caused by S. aureus when there are no appropriate alternative treatments; and for adult patients with complicated skin & skin structure infections (cSSSI) due to Gram-positive bacteria, including S. aureus.
The medication is also approved in Europe, Canada and Russia.