What is "avibactam"

n. A particular non-β-lactam β-lactamase inhibitor antibiotic.

Avibactam is a non- β-lactam β-lactamase inhibitor developed by Actavis (now Allergan) jointly with AstraZeneca. A new drug application for avibactam in combination with ceftazidime (branded as Avycaz) was approved by the FDA on February 25, 2015, for treating complicated urinary tract (cUTI) and complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) caused by antibiotic resistant-pathogens, including those caused by multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacterial pathogens.

Increasing resistance to cephalosporins among Gram- bacterial pathogens, especially among hospital-acquired infections, results in part from the production of β-lactamase enzymes that deactivate these antibiotics. While the co-administration of a β-lactamase inhibitor can restore antibacterial activity to the cephalosporin, previously approved β-lactamase inhibitors such as tazobactam and clavulanic acid do not inhibit important classes of β-lactamases, including Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemases (KPCs), New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase 1 (NDM-1), and AmpC-type β-lactamases. Whilst avibactam inhibits class A, class B, and, some, class D serine β-lactamases (such as KPCs, AmpC), it has been reported to be a poor substrate/weak inhibitor of class B metallo- β-lactamases, such as VIM-2, VIM-4, SPM-1, BcII, NDM-1, Fez-1.