Tebipenem Pivoxil is an orally available pivaloyloxymethyl ester prodrug of tebipenem, a broad-spectrum 1-beta-methylcarbapenem antibiotic with a 1-(1,3-thiazolin-2-yl) azetidin-3-ylthio group at the C-2 position. After oral administration of tebipenem pivoxil, the ester bond is cleaved, releasing active tebipenem.
Tebipenem (brand name Orapenem) is a broad-spectrum orally-administered antibiotic, from the carbapenem subgroup of β-lactam antibiotics. It was developed as a replacement drug to combat bacteria that had acquired antibiotic resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Tebipenem is formulated as the ester tebipenem pivoxil due to the better absorption and improved bioavailability of this form.[rx] It has performed well in clinical trials for ear infection and looks likely to be further developed in the future.[rx] It is only marketed in Japan.[rx] Tebipenem is the first carbapenem whose prodrug form, the pivaloyl ester, is orally available.[rx]
Tebipenem pivoxil hydrobromide (TBPM-PI-HBr, formerly SPR994) is an orally available prodrug of tebipenem, a carbapenem with activity versus multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative pathogens, including quinolone-resistant and extended-spectrum-β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae. The safety and pharmacokinetics (PK) of tebipenem were studied after administration of single and multiple ascending oral doses of TBPM-PI-HBr in fed and fasted states. Healthy adults received single oral doses of TBPM-PI-HBr at 100 mg to 900 mg or placebo (n = 108) or multiple doses of 300 mg or 600 mg every 8 h or placebo (n = 16) for 14 days. In the single-ascending-dose (SAD) phase, mean tebipenem plasma concentrations increased in a linear and dose-proportional manner for doses of 100 to 900 mg and were comparable in the fasted and fed states for the 300- and 600-mg doses. In the MAD phase, tebipenem maximum concentration (Cmax) was reached within 1.5 h and was dose-proportional on day 1 and higher than dose-proportional (2.7-fold) on day 14. AUC was more than 2-fold greater on day 1 (2.7-fold) and day 14 (2.5-fold) for 600 mg q8h than for 300 mg q8h. Approximately 55% to 60% of tebipenem was recovered in the urine. TBPM-PI-HBr was well tolerated; mild, transient diarrhea was the most commonly reported adverse event. TBPM-PI-HBr provides an orally bioavailable carbapenem option to treat serious infections caused by MDR Enterobacteriaceae and has the potential to decrease the need for intravenous antibiotic therapy in the hospital or outpatient setting. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT03395249.)
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