COMBACTE-CARE

COMBACTE-CARE has recruited 2 266 patients to its EURECA study on infections that are resistant to antibiotics called carbapenems, which are considered to be among the most difficult to treat. ###In a statement, the project said: ‘Excellent collaboration between the central team and the study sites has ensured that the study has run smoothly, and in future will lead to results that have a significant impact on the practice of infectious diseases in Europe and elsewhere.’ Cases of infections caused by bacteria known as carbapanem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are on the rise, and are most common in healthcare settings. They are extremely hard to treat (very often the only treatment options are combinations of old, toxic antibiotics) and can be fatal. The EURECA study is investigating the risk factors for CRE infection and things that influence treatment outcomes. The samples collected during the study are now being sent to a central site for analysis.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) project COMBACTE-CARE has recruited the first patient in the REJUVENATE study, a clinical trial of a novel antibiotic designed to tackle drug-resistant infections that are particularly hard to treat.### The goal of the REJUVENATE study is to assess the workings and safety of a novel antibiotic combination product called Aztreonam-Avibactam (ATM-AVI) in 40 hospitalised adults with ‘complicated intra-abdominal infections’. The first patient was enrolled at the University Hospital Virgen del Rocio in Seville, Spain. Other study sites recruiting patients are based in Germany and France. The COMBACTE-CARE project focuses on tackling bacteria known as ‘carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae’ (CRE), which are resistant to most available antibiotics and are so difficult to treat they are considered to be an urgent global threat. Worryingly, cases of CRE infections are on the rise in Europe and globally.

Antibiotic research and development was given a boost recently by the announcement that the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) would fund clinical studies of a novel antibiotic combination product called Aztreonam-Avibactam (ATM-AVI). ###ATM-AVI is designed to tackle certain antibiotic infections that are particularly tough to treat. In Europe, IMI is supporting clinical studies of ATM-AVI through the COMBACTE-CARE project. The funding from BARDA will support additional studies needed to advance the development of this urgently-needed treatment.

Meet COMBACTE at ECCMID!
IMI’s COMBACTE family of antimicrobial resistance projects will have a stand at the exhibition of the 27th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Vienna, Austria on 22-25 April. ###The project team will be at booth 29 at the exhibition. Partners in the COMBACTE-MAGNET project will also present results from their RESCUING study at the conference. RESCUING gathered observational data on the treatment of some 1 000 patients with complicated urinary tract infections in 8 countries where the prevalence of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria is seen to be high. That includes Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Romania, Turkey and Spain. In a blog post on the COMBACTE website, COMBACTE-NET’s Bruno François explains why COMBACTE is going to ECCMID: ‘Since ECCMID is one of the biggest, most important microbiology and infectious diseases congresses, I would say it is really ‘the place to be’ for our project. Without a doubt it also creates more visibility. Next to that, the event itself fits with the purpose of COMBACTE.’
(March 2017)

IMI antimicrobial resistance programme expands with new project
IMI’s antimicrobial resistance programme New Drugs for Bad Bugs has acquired a new project with the launch of COMBACTE-CARE. With 18 academic partners and 3 pharmaceutical companies , the project will bring highly innovative studies and activities related to the treatment of patients with infections caused by Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). ###Tough to treat and sometimes deadly, CRE are considered to be one of the most dangerous resistant bacteria in the world. Specifically, the €83 million project aims to understand how patients with CRE infections are managed, with a focus on best available treatment and clinical outcomes. The project will develop new tools to detect CRE and conduct clinical trials with AstraZeneca’s antibiotic combination product Aztreonam-Avibactam (ATM-AVI), in development for the treatment of serious infections due to a difficulty to treat sub-type of CRE infections called metallo‐β‐lactamase producing Gram‐negative pathogens. All clinical and microbiological studies will be conducted in South-Eastern Europe, where infection rates with MDR-GNB are expected to be high. The phase III study is intended to include investigation sites outside Europe to ensure the global assessment of the ATI-AVI combination product. - Read the project’s press release  
(March 2015)