New antibacterial Vabomere approved in USA

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Vabomere for adults with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), including a type of kidney infection, pyelonephritis, caused by specific bacteria.

The FDA granted approval of Vabomere to Rempex Pharmaceuticals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Medicines Company (NYSE: MDCO), whose shares, surprisingly, were down 4.8% at $36.88 in late-morning trading. Vabomere is a drug containing meropenem, an antibacterial, and vaborbactam, which inhibits certain types of resistance mechanisms used by bacteria.

“The FDA is committed to making new safe and effective antibacterial drugs available,” said Edward Cox, director of the Office of Antimicrobial Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, adding: “This approval provides an additional treatment option for patients with cUTI, a type of serious bacterial infection.”