Novartis launches Cubicin for MRSA
pharmafile | September 14, 2007 | News story | Sales and Marketing |Â Â Â
Novartis has launched Cubicin – its novel, first-in-class antibiotic – in the UK, in a new indication to treat the deadly hospital 'superbug' MRSA.
Cubicin (daptomycin) works by killing bacteria cells to eliminate infection, as opposed to preventing the growth of bacteria - the mode of action of most of the currently available treatments.
Dr Andrew Seaton, a consultant in infectious diseases at Gartnavel general hospital in Glasgow, said "Serious staphylococcal infections are extremely challenging for hospital specialists to treat, with about 40% in the UK now resistant to first-line therapy.
"Daptomycin is a fast-acting agent in these potentially difficult situations and is well tolerated by patients. This is an extremely important and welcomed development in the battle against serious MRSA infection."
Cubicin is one of only two new classes of antibiotic in more than 20 years, the other being Wyeth's glycylcycline expanded broad-spectrum antibiotic, Tygacil (tigecycline) – launched in July last year for MRSA.
Clinicians have a limited choice of antibiotics for MRSA, usually just Tygacil, Sanofi-Aventis' Targocid (teicoplanin), Pfizer's Zyvox (linezolid) and the current first-line treatment Flynn Pharma's Vancocin (vancomycin).
In head-to-head clinical trials, Cubicin was shown to be as effective as Vancocin, with a success rate of 69% to Vancocin's 67% at curing or improving symptoms.
Cubicins' new licence is for methicillin-sensitive and resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA and MRSA) bloodstream infections and heart infections.
It was first approved in the UK in March 2006 for complicated skin and soft-tissue infections caused by S aureus and other Gram positive bacteria, including MRSA.
Cubicin's unique mode of action means there is no cross-resistance to existing classes of antibiotics and that resistance – a common concern with antibiotics – may be slow to emerge.
Cubicin is administered via a once daily 30-minute infusion and no dose adjustment is needed for most patients, which Novartis said might make it particularly suitable for difficult-to-manage patients, such as those with renal impairment or the elderly.
MRSA is increasingly in the public eye and government pressure on PCTs to reduce infection rates has had some effect – in the first nine months of last year, cases fell by 5% to 3,400.
Nonetheless, MRSA prevalence is consistently rising across Europe, and the UK has the fifth highest infection rate after Portugal, Malta, Cyprus and Romania.
