Since the publication of a series of posters at ICAAC 2014, we finally know what’s hidden behind the ‘Carbavance’ name. ‘Carbavance’ stands for the combination of meropenem with the B-lactamase inhibitor RPX7009 which The Medicines Company (TMC) inlicensed from Rempex Pharmaceuticals a few years ago. This is the ‘Carbavance’ which TMC will take into Phase 3 development.
Until recently, ‘Carbavance’ was known as the combination of biapenem and RPX7009. Then, there was a new moniker, ‘RPX2014/RPX7009’, also referred to as ‘Carbavance’ [1]. All very confusing, maybe by design.
Above an excerpt from the most recent Investor Conference presentation (Sept 23, 2014 which -somewhat schizophrenically – gives us 2 ‘Carbavance’ definitions. Sometimes labeled “meropenem plus RPX7009”, and at other times as “a marketed carbapenem PLUS RPX7009”, the decision to use meropenem was probably so recent that the slide makers had trouble catching up with the new realities.
Okay, we get it: As the beta-lactam work horse drug, biapenem was an penem with a clinical study program conducted in Japan but not in the US. As such, it would have taken some time and effort to get the combination approved in the US.
Hence, TMC decided to replace it with meropenem which already has a complete dossier with FDA. Presumably,TMC has permission from AstraZeneca to cross-reference the meropenem data. This way, only a small Phase 3 program would be needed, an important competitive advantage.
The switch looks like a clever move from which both companies stand to benefit. Except that biapenem now needs to find a new partner. It could be combined with the new beta-lactamase inhibitor OP0595 just presented at ICAAC. Hopefully this new combination will not be called ‘Carbavance’ as well.
It is high time to get rid of the confusing ‘Carbavance’ name: This rose – by any other name – would smell a lot sweeter…
Note: Biapenem was also called RPX2003 or L-627, or CL-186815, or LJC-10627 in the past.
Reference:
[1] http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT02020434
