AstraZeneca's new antibiotic Zavicefta approved in EU

The European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Zavicefta(ceftazidime-avibactam, previously known as CAZ AVI), a new combination antibiotic for the treatment of patients with serious Gram-negative bacterial infections requiring hospitalization, from Anglo-Swedish pharma major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN).

The approval includes intravenous use of Zavicefta for the treatment of adult patients suffering from complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI); Complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), including pyelonephritis; hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), including ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP); and, the treatment of aerobic Gram-negative infections in adult patients who have limited treatment options.

Zavicefta has been developed in response to the urgent need for new antibiotics to treat serious infections that are becoming increasingly resistant, such as multi-drug resistant P. aeruginosa, carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative pathogens, and ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae.