Addressing Issues Surrounding Current Antibiotic Development

Cefiderocol MICs fell against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae, and the drug showed marked synergy with LL-37 against resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Jacinda Abdul-Mutakabbir, PharmD, MPH, AAHIVP, discusses her team's findings around this therapy and these pathogens.

Shionogi data presented at IDWeek 2026 demonstrated a 76.7% clinical response with cefiderocol in carbapenem-resistant respiratory infections and high in vitro activity against resistant P aeruginosa VAP isolates. Christine Slover, PharmD, vice president, Infectious Diseases US Medical Affairs, Shionogi, offers insights on the data as well as clinical considerations for providers when weighing the antibiotic for patients.

Stopping empiric antibiotics early nearly tripled antibiotic-free days in neutropenic fever, and 5-day oseltamivir prophylaxis matched 10 days in hospital exposures.

MBL producers rose from 20.4% to 48.6% of US carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales from 2021 to 2025, while aztreonam-avibactam stayed active against 97.7% of them.

Karen B. Jacobson, MD, MPH, of Kaiser Permanente Northern California, presented data at IDWeek 2026 showing 58.2% of children younger than five years exposed to active hepatitis B in the home were exposed by someone other than their birth mother, a risk maternal screening alone would miss under the CDC’s revised birth dose recommendation.

Investigational cefiderocol-xeruborbactam inhibited 98.5% of carbapenem-nonsusceptible Acinetobacter and nearly all Enterobacterales in global surveillance data.

David Altarac, MD, discusses 2025 SENTRY data, ESBL considerations in empiric therapy, and where ceftobiprole fits alongside ceftaroline in S aureus bacteremia.

Jean van Wyk, MBChB, MFPM, discussed the 5-year OPERA data from IDWeek 2026 as well as the anticipated CROWN study results.