Antibacterial drug Xerava launched in China

Everest Medicines, a Hong Kong-listed biopharmaceutical company, announced on Thursday that Xerava, which is used for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections in adult patients, has been launched in China.

The first prescription for the medication was recently issued at Shanghai Huashan Hospital.

The company, which specializes in innovative medicines and vaccines, said that the commercialization of the medicine in China marks Everest's transformation into a commercial-stage innovative biopharmaceutical company.

Xerava is the world's first fluorocycline antibiotic for the treatment of infections caused by susceptible gram positive, gram negative and anaerobic pathogens, including multidrug resistant isolates, said the company.

It was approved for use in China in March, and has since been recommended in multiple treatment guidelines in China and around the world due to its broad bacterial spectrum coverage and high potency against multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.

Zhu Duming, leader and chief physician of the critical care department at Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital, said that the launch of the medicine in China will help doctors tackle challenges related to clinical drug resistance.

Rogers Yongqing Luo, CEO of Everest Medicines, said that the company will accelerate patient access to the medicine following the commercial launch.

"The company will continue to advance the approval and commercialization of other drug candidates to further address urgent unmet needs in China and the rest of Asia," he said.