REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File PhotoJune 1 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Thursday data from late-stage trials showed its experimental combination of antibiotics was effective in treating deadly infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria.
Deaths from antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as superbugs, have been on the rise globally, and health regulators have called for the development of newer treatments as resistance to older antibiotics grows.
The late-stage studies compared the experimental combination of the antibiotics aztreonam-avibactam (ATM-AVI) and existing generic drug metronidazole with a combination of two older antibiotics - meropenem and colistin - to treat complicated intra-abdominal infections and types of hospital-acquired pneumonia.
Pfizer said the data from the studies shows the antibiotic combination of ATM-AVI is effective and well-tolerated in treating infections caused by gram-negative bacteria.
For patients with types of hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator‐associated pneumonia, the cure rate was 45.9% for Pfizer's antibiotic combination with metronidazole, versus 41.7% for other, older treatments.
Persons:
Johanna Geron, Leroy Leo, Sriparna Roy, Pooja Desai
Organizations:
Pfizer, REUTERS, Pfizer Inc, Disease Control, Thomson
Locations:
Puurs, Belgium, United States, Bengaluru