ASTELLAS, TOMAYA TO COLLABORATE ON ANTIBIOTIC

Japanese durgmakers Astellas and Toyama Chemical have entered into a licensing agreement for the development and marketing of the antibiotic T-3811 (garenoxacin). Toyama will manufacture the product and supply it to Astellas through its subsidiary Taisho Toyama Pharmaceutical, and the companies will work together to obtain additional oral indications for the medication.

The drug is a new type of quinolone antibiotic — usually prescribed to patients who have not responded to first-line antibiotic treatments — that has a wide antibacterial spectrum. It has been studied as a treatment for respiratory, urinary tract, skin and soft tissue infections. It has also been shown as effective against penicillin-resistant streptococcus pneumoniae and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus — two particularly virulent strains of bacterial infection.