Shionogi Announces $119 Million Contract from U.S. Government for Antibiotic Manufacturing

Japanese drugmaker Shionogi announced that its U.S. subsidiary received a $119 million contract from the U.S. government. CIDRAP has the news.

The contract, which was awarded through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), seeks to “establish a U.S. manufacturing site for the antibiotic cefiderocol and support procurement of the drug. It will also help fund development of cefiderocol to respond to high-priority bacterial biothreats. The contract has multiyear options that could bring the total up to $482 million.”

Cefiderocol is a “siderophore cephalosporin antibiotic with a novel method of penetrating the tough outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria and an ability to overcome resistance mechanisms used by bacteria to evade antibiotics. Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating complicated urinary tract infections and hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (HABP/VABP) in adults, cefiderocol has become a valued option for difficult-to-treat, multidrug-resistant infections.”

The move is also meant to bolster U.S. manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. The FDA has been working to speed up “construction and review of U.S. drug manufacturing facilities” in recent months.