FDA Approves New Drug for Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia

The FDA has greenlighted Merck’s Zerbaxa (ceftolazane and tazobactam) to treat adults with hospital-acquired pneumonia.

Zerbaxa was already approved for abdominal infections and complicated urinary tract infections. Pneumonia is the second most common type of hospital infection, according to the CDC.

The approval comes after Merck presented positive results from an international trial of 726 patients. The drug received fast-track review under the FDA’s Qualified Infectious Disease Product program.