{"id":28432,"date":"2016-01-29T15:51:11","date_gmt":"2016-01-29T20:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sciencebusiness.technewslit.com\/?p=28432"},"modified":"2016-06-11T12:15:55","modified_gmt":"2016-06-11T16:15:55","slug":"allergan-astrazeneca-partner-on-drug-resistant-bacteria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/technewslit.com\/sciencebusiness\/?p=28432","title":{"rendered":"Allergan, AstraZeneca Partner on Drug-Resistant Bacteria"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Bacteria<\/a>
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

29 January 2016. Pharmaceutical companies Allergan and AstraZeneca are developing a new treatment for infections caused by a type of bacteria already resistant to antibiotics. Financial aspects of the collaboration between the enterprises were not disclosed.<\/p>\n

The agreement calls for the two companies to develop and commercialize ATM-AVI, a new drug that treats infections from metallo beta-lactamase or MBL producing gram-negative bacteria. These bacteria, a subset of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae<\/a>, are considered particularly difficult to treat with current antibiotics, and infections from these pathogens are often found among people with weakened immune systems in health care facilities.<\/p>\n

ATM-AVI combines the antibiotics aztreonam and avibactam. Aztreonam<\/a> kills bacteria causing several types of infections, including pneumonia, urinary tract, gynecological, skin, bone, joint, stomach, and blood infections. Avibactam, marketed as Avycaz<\/a> by Allergan, is prescribed for complicated intra-abdominal infections, as well as infections of the urinary tract.<\/p>\n

Allergan<\/a> notes that aztreonam has limited utility by itself against MBL-producing gram-negative pathogens because of enzymes produced by the bacteria that deactivate the drug. With avibactam added, however, aztreonam’s ability to fight these pathogens is restored. AstraZeneca<\/a> says ATM-AVI is currently in early-stage clinical trials. \u201cGram\u201d refers to a classification for bacteria where the microbes either retain (gram-positive) or shed (gram-negative) a test stain on their protective cell coatings.<\/p>\n

The collaboration, says Allergan, builds on a partnership between AstraZeneca and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or Barda<\/a>, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, begun in September 2015. Under that agreement, Barda is supporting development of ATM-AVI for gram-negative infections for which few treatments are new available, and can be used deployed in case of attack by biological agents, including meliodosis, glanders, and plague.<\/p>\n

Under the agreement, Allergan gains the drug’s commercialization rights for the U.S. and Canada, while AstraZeneca secures rights to commercialize ATM-AVI elsewhere. Allergan, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is being acquired<\/a> by the U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer for an estimated $160 billion, with that transaction scheduled to close in the second half of 2016.<\/p>\n

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