New antibiotic to be listed for reimb, following Zerbaxa

Zavicefta is currently in the final round of discussions with the NHIS.

The drug has landed in Big 5 hospitals including Seoul National University Hospital.

Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea is currently in negotiations for reimbursement pricing for its Zavicefta Inj (ceftazidime·avibactam).

Zavicefta, the next-generation antibiotic, is progressing towards reimbursement listing.

 

According to the industry, Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea is currently in the final round of discussions with the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) to settle the reimbursement pricing negotiations for its Zavicefta Inj (ceftazidime·avibactam).

 

Zavicefta received approval from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA)'s Drug Reimbursement Committee in September 2023, and its negotiations began in November.

 

When negotiations reach a settlement without any delays, it is anticipated that Zavicefta will be able to get listed for reimbursement next month.

 

Until now, apart from MSD Korea’s Zerbaxa Inj (ceftazidime·tazobactam), new antibiotics have not produced satisfactory results.

 

Therefore, it is noteworthy to watch whether Zavicefta will successfully receive reimbursement listing.

 

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.

 

Zavicefta, an intravenous injection, is targeted for use in 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 was initially developed by AstraZeneca and later became the property of Pfizer when Pfizer acquired AstraZeneca’s antibiotics business in 2016.

 

Securing new alternative treatments for carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative pathogens is a global health priority, as announced by the WHO.

 

Multi-drug resistant P.

 

aeruginosa has seen a global increase and is causing serious problems in recent healthcare-related infections.

 

The WHO has appointed carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative pathogens as one of the pathogens requiring high-priority research and development of new antibiotics.

 

The rate of gram-negative pathogens exhibiting carbapenem resistance in Korea is 30.6%, ranking as the second highest among the countries surveyed, with Greece being the highest.

 

ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae confers resistance to most cephalosporins-class antibiotics, which are typically effective against a broad range of gram-negative pathogens.

 

To date, new antibiotics introduced in Korea include MSD’s Zerbaxa (ceftazidime·tazobactam) and Pfizer’s Cresemba (isavuconazonium), etc.

 

Zavicefta has recently passed the Drug Committee (DC) of the “Big 5” hospitals, including Seoul National University Hospital, Samsung Seoul Hospital, Seoul St.

 

Mary's Hospital, Seoul Asan Hospital, and Sinchon Severance Hospital.

 

It has secured prescription in approximately 40 hospitals in Korea.