Revenge Of The Bacteria Killers
Matthew Herper, 06.16.05, 9:30 AM ET
§Pfizer
Tear Sheet Chart News
§
NEW YORK - Big pharma has returned to a market it once abandoned: antibiotics.
Today, Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ) has announced a deal to acquire Vicuron Pharmaceuticals (nasdaq: MICU - news - people ), one of several biotech companies leading in the field of antibiotic research, for $1.9 billion in cash. At almost the same time, Wyeth (nyse: WYE - news - people ) announced it has received approval for Tygacil, a new antibiotic that it has touted as a potential blockbuster.
The deal is one signal of a big reversal in the drug business. Over the past few decades, many of the biggest drug firms, including Eli Lilly (nyse: LLY - news - people ), Wyeth and Roche, seemed to back away from antibiotic development, closing plants and shuttering programs. But that was before a new generation of bacteria and fungi resistant to existing drugs started wreaking havoc in hospitals--creating a new, potentially lucrative market. Some resistant bugs have slipped out from hospitals into the community. One even infected a major football team.
Two years ago, Pfizer Chief Executive Henry A. "Hank" McKinnell told us, "There are a number of organisms where we're one antibiotic away from a worldwide disaster" (see: "Bug Wars").
With big pharma in many cases absent from the game, biotech entered the field. Cubist Pharmaceuticals (nasdaq: CBST - news - people ) now sells Cubicin, a first-in-class injectable bacteria killer it licensed from Lilly. New results in bloodstream and heart infections are expected in coming months (see: "A Better Antibiotic?"). Vicuron expects a regulatory decision on its own injectable antibiotic, dalbavancin, in September. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is also reviewing its anidulafungin, a new drug for the treatment of deadly fungal infections that would be given once a month.
"By acquiring Vicuron, we can help bring two very important new medicines to patients around the world," said McKinnell in a prepared statement.
Forbes first profiled Vicuron two years ago (see: "Building An Antibiotic Powerhouse"). Recently, Chief Financial Officer Dr. Dov Goldstein sat for a video interview with Forbes to talk about his drugs.
The announcement of the deal may also bode well for an earlier stage collaboration between Vicuron and Pfizer that aimed to create next-generation versions of Pfizer's Zyvox, one of the first new classes of antibiotics to be approved in 30 years--several more have been approved since. The drug is a powerful hospital antibiotic, but has some safety issues that limit its use.
Pfizer is far from alone in its new enthusiasm for drugs that kill resistant bacteria. Johnson & Johnson (nyse: JNJ - news - people ) recently bought Peninsula Pharmaceuticals, another developer of antibiotics. And then there's Wyeth. Many industry watchers thought the company was exiting the antibiotic area when it shut down a crucial plant. But today it has announced FDA approval for Tygacil, a new antibiotic that may be very useful at treating infections where there are multiple types of resistant bacteria, or where the pathogen can't be identified.
Peter Appelbaum, an expert in resistant bacteria at Penn State, says the drug has been in development for 15 years and causes more nausea than other drugs--a side effect that could crimp Wyeth's rosy forecasts. But Appelbaum says the drug could still be a valuable addition.
Allan Morrison, a hospital epidemiologist for the INOVA health system, agrees. "Managing secondary side-effect profiles is not insignificant," says Morrison, "but it takes a backseat to saving the patient's life, particularly where we're looking at resistant organisms, where the alternatives are bleak."
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Matthew Herper, 06.16.05, 9:30 AM ET
§Pfizer
Tear Sheet Chart News
§
NEW YORK - Big pharma has returned to a market it once abandoned: antibiotics.
Today, Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ) has announced a deal to acquire Vicuron Pharmaceuticals (nasdaq: MICU - news - people ), one of several biotech companies leading in the field of antibiotic research, for $1.9 billion in cash. At almost the same time, Wyeth (nyse: WYE - news - people ) announced it has received approval for Tygacil, a new antibiotic that it has touted as a potential blockbuster.
The deal is one signal of a big reversal in the drug business. Over the past few decades, many of the biggest drug firms, including Eli Lilly (nyse: LLY - news - people ), Wyeth and Roche, seemed to back away from antibiotic development, closing plants and shuttering programs. But that was before a new generation of bacteria and fungi resistant to existing drugs started wreaking havoc in hospitals--creating a new, potentially lucrative market. Some resistant bugs have slipped out from hospitals into the community. One even infected a major football team.
Two years ago, Pfizer Chief Executive Henry A. "Hank" McKinnell told us, "There are a number of organisms where we're one antibiotic away from a worldwide disaster" (see: "Bug Wars").
With big pharma in many cases absent from the game, biotech entered the field. Cubist Pharmaceuticals (nasdaq: CBST - news - people ) now sells Cubicin, a first-in-class injectable bacteria killer it licensed from Lilly. New results in bloodstream and heart infections are expected in coming months (see: "A Better Antibiotic?"). Vicuron expects a regulatory decision on its own injectable antibiotic, dalbavancin, in September. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is also reviewing its anidulafungin, a new drug for the treatment of deadly fungal infections that would be given once a month.
"By acquiring Vicuron, we can help bring two very important new medicines to patients around the world," said McKinnell in a prepared statement.
Forbes first profiled Vicuron two years ago (see: "Building An Antibiotic Powerhouse"). Recently, Chief Financial Officer Dr. Dov Goldstein sat for a video interview with Forbes to talk about his drugs.
The announcement of the deal may also bode well for an earlier stage collaboration between Vicuron and Pfizer that aimed to create next-generation versions of Pfizer's Zyvox, one of the first new classes of antibiotics to be approved in 30 years--several more have been approved since. The drug is a powerful hospital antibiotic, but has some safety issues that limit its use.
Pfizer is far from alone in its new enthusiasm for drugs that kill resistant bacteria. Johnson & Johnson (nyse: JNJ - news - people ) recently bought Peninsula Pharmaceuticals, another developer of antibiotics. And then there's Wyeth. Many industry watchers thought the company was exiting the antibiotic area when it shut down a crucial plant. But today it has announced FDA approval for Tygacil, a new antibiotic that may be very useful at treating infections where there are multiple types of resistant bacteria, or where the pathogen can't be identified.
Peter Appelbaum, an expert in resistant bacteria at Penn State, says the drug has been in development for 15 years and causes more nausea than other drugs--a side effect that could crimp Wyeth's rosy forecasts. But Appelbaum says the drug could still be a valuable addition.
Allan Morrison, a hospital epidemiologist for the INOVA health system, agrees. "Managing secondary side-effect profiles is not insignificant," says Morrison, "but it takes a backseat to saving the patient's life, particularly where we're looking at resistant organisms, where the alternatives are bleak."
Want to track news by this author or about this industry? Forbes Attaché makes it easy. Click here.
