Alkem has announced the launch of its novel anti-infective Ceftazidime-Avibactam injection, under the brand name, Zidavi in India. It is known to be effective against multi-drug resistance, MDR infections.
In India, with the rise in carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative organisms, there is a need for treatments more effective than the existing antibiotics. Zidavi is a 3rd generation antibiotic.
Ceftazidime is Third-generation cephalosporin with broad-spectrum gram-negative activity, including Pseudomonas; arrests bacterial growth by binding to 1 or more penicillin-binding proteins, and thereby inhibiting final transpeptidation step of peptidoglycan synthesis in bacterial cell-wall synthesis and inhibiting cell-wall biosynthesis.
Whereas, Avibactam is Diazabicyclooctanone, non-β-lactam, β-lactamase inhibitor; alone has no antibacterial activity at clinically relevant doses; when combined with ceftazidime, avibactam protects ceftazidime from degradation by β-lactamase enzymes and effectively extends the antibiotic spectrum of ceftazidime to include many gram-negative bacteria normally not susceptible to ceftazidime.
It is widely available in the USA and approved since 2015, known as Avycaz. It is indicated in Intra-abdominal Infections, Urinary Tract Infections and Bacterial Pneumonia. In the USA, it is approved for intravenous administration to treat complicated infections in the urinary tract, or in combination with the antibacterial drug metronidazole to treat complicated infections in the abdomen in patients with limited or no alternative treatment options.
Alkem's strength with Zidavi lies in its indigenously developed formulation which is manufactured in its state of the art manufacturing plant at Sikkim.
