- LONDON: AstraZeneca and Forest Laboratories are to launch a final-stage Phase III trial program for a new treatment against “superbug” bacterial infections.
The partners said on Tuesday they aimed to submit ceftazidime/avibactam (CAZ-AVI) for regulatory approval in 2014.
CAZ-AVI combines a broad-spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic and a novel beta-lactamase inhibitor to overcome antibiotic-resistance and treat the increasing number of infections resistant to existing therapies.
A series of five Phase III studies will test the product in hospitalized patients with serious Gram-negative bacterial infections in the abdomen and urinary tract.
Forest will have rights to commercialize CAZ-AVI in North America while AstraZeneca will sell it elsewhere. Both companies will share development costs.
