New MRSA-specific antibiotic approved in Switzerland

Ceftobiprole (aka Zevtera) has passed all its trials and been approved by Swissmedic, which is kind of like the FDA for Switzerland. Fox business (ugh, I know...) has the story:

"Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. announces that ceftobiprole (Zevtera), the first-in-class anti-MRSA broad-spectrum cephalosporin, has obtained regulatory approval from Swissmedic for the treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections including diabetic foot infections.

Dr. Anthony Man, CEO of Basilea said, "We are delighted by this approval of ceftobiprole by Swissmedic. This is an important moment for our company and brings a novel and effective treatment against resistant bacteria to patients and physicians here in Switzerland."

The Swiss marketing authorization certificate may be used to facilitate regulatory approval and market entry in other countries including Asia and South America.

The regulatory dossier to Swissmedic was submitted by Basilea's license partner Janssen-Cilag AG, a Johnson & Johnson company, who will commercialize ceftobiprole in Switzerland under the trade name Zevtera.

Ceftobiprole is marketed in Canada and is currently under regulatory review by regulatory authorities in the U.S., the European Union and in other countries. Subject to approval, Basilea will co-promote ceftobiprole in the U.S. and in the major European markets together with the respective Janssen-Cilag companies.

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I hope and also expect a quick approval by the FDA for the use of Zevtera. I'm really surprised Canada got this approved before the US. America often likes proclaim it has some kind of pharmaceutical superiority to Canada, but I have rarely found this to be the case.

Most likely some corrupt Senator or Governor is dishing out grant money for an American company to reverse engineer Zevtera and add some random polymer to get a new patent. Big Pharma has no shortage of lobbyists, that much's for certain!