On Thursday, Johnson & Johnson reported that Zevtera (ceftobiprole) received approval in Switzerland as a treatment for complicated skin and soft tissue infections, including diabetic foot infections which have not spread to the bone. The antibiotic, which is co-developed with Basilea, is currently under review by regulators in the US and EU.

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Johnson & Johnson noted that the compound is the “first, broad-spectrum, anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) cephalosporin antibiotic with activity against a range of difficult-to-treat Gram-positive and Gram-negative hospital- and community-acquired pathogens including MRSA and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.” Commenting on the news, Vontobel analyst Markus Metzger said that “approval from Swissmedic is in-line with our and market expectations but certainly bodes well for the anticipated approval of ceftobiprole in Europe later this year and in the important US market by Q1 2009.” In March, the FDA issued an approvable letter for the drug.

Analysts forecast that the antibiotic, which is also being tested as a potential therapy for pneumonia, could generate peak sales ranging from 1 billion Swiss francs ($834 million) to 1.6 billion francs ($1.3 billion).

Source: FirstWord

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