Summary of Ceftaroline Fosamil Clinical Trial Studies and Clinical Safety

Abstract

In October 2010, the new cephalosporin, ceftaroline fosamil, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for therapy of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSIs). The active metabolite, ceftaroline, demonstrates in vitro activity against typical bacterial pathogens most often associated with CABP or ABSSSIs, including resistant Gram-positive pathogens such as multidrug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The efficacy and safety of ceftaroline fosamil was assessed in 2 large phase 3 programs of randomized, double-blind, clinical trials for CABP and ABSSSIs. For both indications, therapy with ceftaroline fosamil was observed to be noninferior to the comparator agents (ceftriaxone for CABP and vancomycin plus aztreonam for ABSSSIs) at both a standard test of cure assessment time (8-15 days after discontinuation of study drug) and an early assessment time point (day 3 or 4 of study). In the integrated analysis of the trials for CABP (FOCUS 1 and 2), clinical cure rates for the ceftaroline group were numerically higher than those for the ceftriaxone group (for the clinically evaluable population 84.3% vs 77.7%; difference: 6.6%; 95% confidence interval, 1.6%-11.8%). Among patients with CABP caused by S. pneumoniae, clinical cure rates were markedly higher in the ceftaroline treatment group than in the ceftriaxone treatment group (59 of 69 [85.5%] vs 48 of 70 [68.6%], respectively). For the ABSSSI studies (CANVAS 1 and 2), microbiologically evaluable (ME) success rates were similar between the treatment groups. Notably, the clinical cure rates in ME patients with methicillin-resistant S. aureus ABSSSIs were 142 of 152 (93.4%) and 115 of 122 (94.3%), for ceftaroline and vancomycin plus aztreonam, respectively, and did not differ from those achieved in infections due to methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (93.0%-94.5%). Ceftaroline fosamil was well tolerated, with a safety profile similar to the comparator agents used in these phase 3 trials.