Shionogi, GARDP and CHAI announce landmark collaboration to expand access to cefiderocol

Shares of Japanese drug major Shionogi (TYO: 4507) closed down 5.6% at 6,493 yen today, despite revealing what it described as a “landmark” collaboration for access to its antibiotic cefiderocol, which is marketed under the trade name Fetroja.

Shionogi and the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) announced the execution of a license and technology transfer agreement and, with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), a collaboration agreement that aim to significantly transform the landscape of access to antibiotics for countries around the world.

The agreements will provide access to cefiderocol, an antibiotic for the treatment of serious Gram-negative bacterial infections, which may be resistant to other antibiotic treatments. Cefiderocol was recently added to the World Health Organization (WHO) Model List of Essential Medicines and targets a number of Gram-negative WHO priority pathogens. It was approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2020 and, separately, by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2019.