SHIONOGI LAUNCHES FETCROJA® (CEFIDEROCOL) IN THE UNITED KINGDOM FOR THE TREATMENT OF INFECTIONS DUE TO AEROBIC GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA IN ADULTS WITH LIMITED TREATMENT OPTIONS

• Shionogi announces the launch of FETCROJA^® (cefiderocol) in the United Kingdom (UK) for the treatment of infections due to aerobic Gram-negative bacteria in adults with limited treatment options¹
• Cefiderocol is the first treatment which provides coverage against all Gram-negative pathogens considered of critical priority by the WHO – carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacterales^2,3
• Cefiderocol is the world’s first siderophore cephalosporin that uses the bacteria’s own iron uptake system to gain entry into the cell, acting like a Trojan horse⁴
• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major health burden which results in ~25,000 deaths per year in the EU⁵ and over 5,000 deaths in the UK⁶ from an infection with multidrug-resistant bacteria

 

OSAKA, Japan, AMSTERDAM, NL – September 15, 2020 - Shionogi & Co., Ltd. and its European subsidiary, Shionogi B.V. (hereafter "Shionogi"), today announced the launch of a new antibiotic, cefiderocol, in the United Kingdom for the treatment of infections due to aerobic Gram-negative bacteria in adults (18 years or older) with limited treatment options.¹  The UK is the first country to launch cefiderocol following European Commission approval earlier this year.⁷

 

The approval was based on the nonclinical data package, including the PK/PD data package, and data from three clinical studies in complicated UTI, nosocomial pneumonia and critically ill patients with confirmed carbapenem-resistant infection.⁸

 

Data from multinational surveillance studies for cefiderocol have demonstrated potent in vitro activity against a broad spectrum of aerobic Gram-negative pathogens including all three WHO critical priority pathogens: carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacterales^2,3, as well as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia.⁹ Cefiderocol also demonstrated in vitro activity against certain bacteria that contain very problematic resistant enzymes such as ESBLs, AmpC, serine- and metallo-carbapenemases.^10.11 

 

Data from three clinical studies: APEKS-cUTI, APEKS-NP, and CREDIBLE-CR support the indication of cefiderocol in patients with the following types of infection: complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI)¹², hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), blood stream infections (BSI) including sepsis and patients with bacteraemia (some with no identified primary focus of infection).⁸ One of the studies included patients with Gram-negative infections caused by multidrug-resistant pathogens including carbapenem-resistant bacteria from the WHO priority list.²

 

“We are delighted to announce the launch of cefiderocol in the UK, an important milestone which demonstrates Shionogi’s ongoing commitment to develop novel medicines in the fight against antimicrobial resistance,” said Jonathon Osborne, General Manager, Shionogi UK. “Cefiderocol can now be used to treat some of the most life-threatening infections in patients for whom there are limited or no alternative treatment options.”

 

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major health burden which urgently needs to be addressed. There are  ~25,000 deaths per year in the EU⁵ and over 5,000 deaths in the UK⁶ from an infection with multidrug-resistant bacteria. Infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria are often associated with a high mortality rate.^[i] If no action is taken, antibiotic resistance is predicted to kill 10 million people every year globally by 2050, at a cumulative cost to global economic output of 100 trillion USD.¹⁴

 

“Antimicrobial resistance is a major global health threat that is only set to get worse if action is not taken, and new and effective antibiotics are urgently needed to address this problem,” said Prof. Peter Hawkey, Institute of Microbiology and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham. “Cefiderocol has a novel mechanism of entry through the cell’s outer membrane of Gram-negative pathogens by using the bacteria’s own iron uptake system to gain cell entry, acting like a ‘Trojan horse’. This means it has activity against some of the most difficult-to-treat Gram-negative infections.”

 

Resistant Gram-negative infections

The increasing resistance of many infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria to existing therapies, including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales and non-fermenting species such as P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii, and S. maltophilia, makes them difficult to treat and results in high mortality rates.^15,16 The World Health Organization have identified carbapenem-resistant strains of Enterobacterales, P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii as the top priority in the research and development of new antibiotics.² Cefiderocol is the first antibiotic to address all three major mechanisms of carbapenem-resistance and is an important new treatment option to address this urgent unmet need.¹⁷

 

As a result of COVID-19 some ventilated patients with viral pneumonia may develop secondary carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections¹⁸. Similar to nosocomial pneumonia patients with carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative infections, cefiderocol may be considered as a treatment option.

 

 

Cefiderocol

Cefiderocol is the world’s first siderophore cephalosporin antibiotic with a novel mechanism of entry through the outer membrane of Gram-negative pathogens by using the bacteria’s own iron uptake system to gain cell entry, acting like a Trojan horse.⁴ In addition to entering cells by passive diffusion through porin channels⁸, cefiderocol binds to ferric iron and is actively transported into bacterial cells through the outer membrane via the bacterial iron transporters, which function to incorporate this essential nutrient for bacteria.¹⁹ These mechanisms allow cefiderocol to achieve higher concentrations in the periplasmic space where it can bind to penicillin-binding proteins and inhibit cell wall synthesis in the bacterial cells.⁴

 

Carbapenem resistance (CR) in Gram-negative bacteria is due to three main mechanisms:

• Beta-lactamases which cause enzymatic breakdown of beta-lactams
• Changes in porin channels (through mutations and decrease in number) through which beta-lactams and other antibiotics diffuse into cells,
• Overexpression of efflux pumps which occurs post-exposure and pumps antibiotics out of cells²⁰

As a result of its novel structure and mechanism of cell uptake, cefiderocol can overcome these three major mechanisms of CR.

 

Shionogi’s commitment to fighting antimicrobial resistance

Shionogi has a strong heritage in the field of anti-infectives and has been developing antimicrobial therapies for more than 60 years. Shionogi is proud to be one of the few large pharmaceutical companies that continues to focus on research and development in anti-infectives. The company invests the highest proportion of its pharmaceutical revenues in relevant anti-infectives R&D compared to other large pharmaceutical companies.²¹

 

About Shionogi

Shionogi & Co., Ltd. is a 142-year-old global, research driven pharmaceutical company headquartered in Osaka, Japan, that is dedicated to bringing benefits to patients based on its corporate philosophy of “supplying the best possible medicine to protect the health and wellbeing of the patients we serve.” The company currently markets products in several therapeutic areas including anti-infectives, pain, CNS disorders, cardiovascular diseases and gastroenterology. Shionogi’s research and development currently target two therapeutic areas: infectious diseases, and pain/CNS disorders.

 

For more information on Shionogi & Co., Ltd., please visit http://www.shionogi.co.jp/en/.

Shionogi B.V. is the European headquarters of Shionogi & Co., Ltd. For more information on Shionogi B.V., please visit www.shionogi.eu.

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