Microbiological Characterization of VNRX-5236, a Broad-Spectrum ß-Lactamase Inhibitor for Rescue of the Orally Bioavailable Cephalosporin Ceftibuten as a Carbapenem-Sparing Agent against Strains of Enterobacterales Expressing Extended-Spectrum ß-Lactamases and Serine Carbapenemases.

There is an urgent need for oral agents to combat resistant Gram-negative pathogens. Here, we describe the characterization of VNRX-5236, a broad-spectrum boronic acid ß-lactamase inhibitor (BLI), and its orally bioavailable etzadroxil prodrug, VNRX-7145. VNRX-7145 is being developed in combination with ceftibuten, an oral cephalosporin, to combat strains of Enterobacterales expressing extended-spectrum ß-lactamases (ESBLs) and serine carbapenemases. VNRX-5236 is a reversible covalent inhibitor of serine ß-lactamases, with inactivation efficiencies on the order of 104 M-1 · sec-1, and prolonged active site residence times (t1/2, 5 to 46 min). The spectrum of inhibition includes Ambler class A ESBLs, class C cephalosporinases, and class A and D carbapenemases (KPC and OXA-48, respectively). Rescue of ceftibuten by VNRX-5236 (fixed at 4 µg/ml) in isogenic strains of Escherichia coli expressing class A, C, or D ß-lactamases demonstrated an expanded spectrum of activity relative to oral comparators, including investigational penems, sulopenem, and tebipenem. VNRX-5236 rescued ceftibuten activity in clinical isolates of Enterobacterales expressing ESBLs (MIC90, 0.25 µg/ml), KPCs (MIC90, 1 µg/ml), class C cephalosporinases (MIC90, 1 µg/ml), and OXA-48-type carbapenemases (MIC90, 1 µg/ml). Frequency of resistance studies demonstrated a low propensity for recovery of resistant variants at 4× the MIC of the ceftibuten/VNRX-5236 combination. In vivo, whereas ceftibuten alone was ineffective (50% effective dose [ED50], >128 mg/kg), ceftibuten/VNRX-7145 administered orally protected mice from lethal septicemia caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae producing KPC carbapenemase (ED50, 12.9 mg/kg). The data demonstrate potent, broad-spectrum rescue of ceftibuten activity by VNRX-5236 in clinical isolates of cephalosporin-resistant and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales.

Oritavancin does not induce Clostridium difficile germination and toxin production in hamsters or a human gut model.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relative propensities of oritavancin and vancomycin to induce Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in hamster and in vitro human gut models. METHODS: Hamsters received clindamycin (100 mg/kg orally or subcutaneously), oritavancin (50 mg/kg orally) or vancomycin (50 mg/kg orally). C. difficile spores were administered orally the next day. Control hamsters received vehicle only (polyethylene glycol 400) plus spores or clindamycin but no spores. Hamsters were monitored for clinical signs for 20 days. Caecal contents were analysed for C. difficile cells, spores and the presence of (cyto)toxin. Oritavancin and vancomycin were instilled over 7 days into separate in vitro gut models primed with pooled human faeces and inoculated with C. difficile ribotype 027 spores. Gut flora, C. difficile total viable and spore counts, toxin titres and antimicrobial concentrations were determined. RESULTS: All hamsters treated with oritavancin survived up to 20 days, with no evidence of C. difficile spores, vegetative cells or toxin in their caeca. No hamsters treated with clindamycin or vancomycin survived >6 days after spore administration. Death was associated with high C. difficile counts and toxin in caecal contents. In the gut model, oritavancin dosing elicited a rapid, marked decrease in total viable C. difficile and spore counts to below the limit of detection. Vancomycin did not elicit germination or toxin production in the gut model, but C. difficile remained present as spores throughout. CONCLUSIONS: Oritavancin exposure, unlike exposure to vancomycin or clindamycin, did not lead to CDI in hamsters. In both models, oritavancin reduced C. difficile total counts and spores to below detectable limits. The data indicate the potential of oritavancin for CDI treatment, since exposure did not induce C. difficile germination and toxin production, which are known to exacerbate the disease state.

Assessment of oritavancin serum protein binding across species.

Biophysical methods to study the binding of oritavancin, a lipoglycopeptide, to serum protein are confounded by nonspecific drug adsorption to labware surfaces. We assessed oritavancin binding to serum from mouse, rat, dog, and human by a microbiological growth-based method under conditions that allow near-quantitative drug recovery. Protein binding was similar across species, ranging from 81.9% in human serum to 87.1% in dog serum. These estimates support the translation of oritavancin exposure from nonclinical studies to humans.

Oritavancin disrupts membrane integrity of Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant enterococci to effect rapid bacterial killing.

Oritavancin is an investigational lipoglycopeptide in clinical development for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections. In this study, we demonstrate that oritavancin causes bacterial membrane depolarization and permeabilization leading to cell death of Gram-positive pathogens and that these effects are attributable to the 4'-chlorobiphenylmethyl group of the molecule.

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of bisphosphonated glycopeptide prodrugs for the treatment of osteomyelitis.

As therapeutic agents of choice in the treatment of complicated infections, glycopeptide antibiotics are often preferentially used in cases of osteomyelitis, an infection located in bone and notoriously difficult to successfully manage. Yet frequent and heavy doses of these systemically administered antibiotics are conventionally prescribed to obtain higher antibiotic levels in the bone and reduce the high recurrence rates. Targeting antibiotics to the bone after systemic administration would present at least three potential advantages: (i) greater efficacy, by concentrating the therapeutic agent in bone; (ii) greater convenience, through a reduction in the frequency of administration; and (iii) greater safety, by reducing the levels of systemic drug exposure. We present here the design, synthesis and in vitro evaluation of eight prodrugs of the glycopeptide antibacterial agents vancomycin and oritavancin taking advantage of the affinity of the bisphosphonate group for bone for delivery to osseous tissues.

Inhibition of transcription in Staphylococcus aureus by a primary sigma factor-binding polypeptide from phage G1.

The primary sigma factor of Staphylococcus aureus, sigma(SA), regulates the transcription of many genes, including several essential genes, in this bacterium via specific recognition of exponential growth phase promoters. In this study, we report the existence of a novel staphylococcal phage G1-derived growth inhibitory polypeptide, referred to as G1ORF67, that interacts with sigma(SA) both in vivo and in vitro and regulates its activity. Delineation of the minimal domain of sigma(SA) that is required for its interaction with G1ORF67 as amino acids 294 to 360 near the carboxy terminus suggests that the G1 phage-encoded anti-sigma factor may occlude the -35 element recognition domain of sigma(SA). As would be predicted by this hypothesis, the G1ORF67 polypeptide abolished both RNA polymerase core-dependent binding of sigma(SA) to DNA and sigma(SA)-dependent transcription in vitro. While G1ORF67 profoundly inhibits transcription when expressed in S. aureus cells in mode of action studies, our finding that G1ORF67 was unable to inhibit transcription when expressed in Escherichia coli concurs with its inability to inhibit transcription by the E. coli holoenzyme in vitro. These features demonstrate the selectivity of G1ORF67 for S. aureus RNA polymerase. We predict that G1ORF67 is one of the central polypeptides in the phage G1 strategy to appropriate host RNA polymerase and redirect it to phage reproduction.

Ultrastructural effects of oritavancin on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus.

The ultrastructural effects of the lipoglycopeptide oritavancin on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) were examined by transmission electron microscopy. Oritavancin but not vancomycin induced aberrant septum formation and loss of staining of nascent septal cross walls in MRSA. Septal distortions were also observed in VRE exposed to oritavancin.

Oritavancin kills stationary-phase and biofilm Staphylococcus aureus cells in vitro.

Slow-growing bacteria and biofilms are notoriously tolerant to antibiotics. Oritavancin is a lipoglycopeptide with multiple mechanisms of action that contribute to its bactericidal action against exponentially growing gram-positive pathogens, including the inhibition of cell wall synthesis and perturbation of membrane barrier function. We sought to determine whether oritavancin could eradicate cells known to be tolerant to many antimicrobial agents, that is, stationary-phase and biofilm cultures of Staphylococcus aureus in vitro. Oritavancin exhibited concentration-dependent bactericidal activity against stationary-phase inocula of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) ATCC 29213, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) ATCC 33591, and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA) VRS5 inoculated into nutrient-depleted cation-adjusted Mueller-Hinton broth. As has been described for exponential-phase cells, oritavancin induced membrane depolarization, increased membrane permeability, and caused ultrastructural defects including a loss of nascent septal cross walls in stationary-phase MSSA. Furthermore, oritavancin sterilized biofilms of MSSA, MRSA, and VRSA at minimal biofilm eradication concentrations (MBECs) of between 0.5 and 8 mug/ml. Importantly, MBECs for oritavancin were within 1 doubling dilution of their respective planktonic broth MICs, highlighting the potency of oritavancin against biofilms. These results demonstrate a significant activity of oritavancin against S. aureus in phases of growth that exhibit tolerance to other antimicrobial agents.

Impact of human serum albumin on oritavancin in vitro activity against enterococci.

Oritavancin is a lipoglycopeptide with activity against gram-positive pathogens including vancomycin-resistant enterococci. The impact of human serum albumin (HSA) on oritavancin activity against enterococci was compared to those of vancomycin, daptomycin, teicoplanin, and linezolid in vitro using MIC and time-kill methods. Oritavancin MICs increased between 0- and 8-fold in the presence of HSA. In time-kill assays with HSA, oritavancin retained activity, killing or inhibiting enterococci more rapidly than did comparators when peak concentrations were simulated.

Comparative in vitro activity profile of oritavancin against recent gram-positive clinical isolates.

Oritavancin activity was tested against 15,764 gram-positive isolates collected from 246 hospital centers in 25 countries between 2005 and 2008. Organisms were Staphylococcus aureus (n = 9,075), coagulase-negative staphylococci (n = 1,664), Enterococcus faecalis (n = 1,738), Enterococcus faecium (n = 819), Streptococcus pyogenes (n = 959), Streptococcus agalactiae (n = 415), group C, G, and F streptococci (n = 84), and Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 1,010). Among the evaluated staphylococci, 56.7% were resistant to oxacillin. The vancomycin resistance rate among enterococci was 21.2%. Penicillin-resistant and -intermediate rates were 14.7% and 21.4%, respectively, among S. pneumoniae isolates. Among nonpneumococcal streptococci, 18.5% were nonsusceptible to erythromycin. Oritavancin showed substantial in vitro activity against all organisms tested, regardless of resistance profile. The maximum oritavancin MIC against all staphylococci tested (n = 10,739) was 4 microg/ml; the MIC(90) against S. aureus was 0.12 microg/ml. Against E. faecalis and E. faecium, oritavancin MIC(90)s were 0.06 and 0.12, respectively. Oritavancin was active against glycopeptide-resistant enterococci, including VanA strains (n = 486), with MIC(90)s of 0.25 and 1 microg/ml against VanA E. faecium and E. faecalis, respectively. Oritavancin showed potent activity against streptococci (n = 2,468); MIC(90)s for the different streptococcal species were between 0.008 and 1 microg/ml. These data are consistent with previous studies with respect to resistance rates of gram-positive isolates and demonstrate the spectrum and in vitro activity of oritavancin against a wide variety of contemporary gram-positive pathogens, regardless of resistance to currently used drugs. The data provide a foundation for interpreting oritavancin activity and potential changes in susceptibility over time once oritavancin enters into clinical use.

Time-kill kinetics of oritavancin and comparator agents against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium.

OBJECTIVES: Oritavancin, a lipoglycopeptide, possesses bactericidal activity against Gram-positive bacteria including vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and enterococci. To understand the time dependence of oritavancin activity, we have undertaken time-kill experiments against isolates of S. aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium, including recent antibiotic-resistant strains. METHODS: Six strains of S. aureus [methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA), vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA)] and five strains of enterococci [vancomycin-susceptible enterococci (VSE) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE; both VanA and VanB)] were tested in time-kill assays; oritavancin assays included 0.002% polysorbate-80 to ensure quantitative drug recovery. Oritavancin and comparators vancomycin, teicoplanin, linezolid and daptomycin were tested at static concentrations approximating their free peak (fC(max)) and free trough (fC(min)) in plasma when administered at standard doses for complicated skin and skin structure infections. RESULTS: Oritavancin showed concentration-dependent killing of all strains tested: at its fC(max) predicted from a 200 mg dose in humans, oritavancin exerted bactericidal activity (> or =3 log kill relative to starting inoculum) against MSSA, MRSA and VRSA within 1 h and against VSE between 11 and 24 h. At predicted fC(max) from an 800 mg dose, oritavancin was bactericidal against VISA strains at 24 h and against VRE at 10 h. CONCLUSIONS: Oritavancin displayed concentration-dependent killing of MSSA, MRSA, VRSA, VISA, VSE and VRE. Oritavancin was more rapidly bactericidal against all strains tested than were vancomycin, teicoplanin, linezolid or daptomycin at physiologically relevant concentrations. These data support the conclusion that oritavancin exerts concentration-dependent bactericidal activity on recent, drug-resistant isolates of S. aureus and enterococci.

Assessment by time-kill methodology of the synergistic effects of oritavancin in combination with other antimicrobial agents against Staphylococcus aureus.

Oritavancin is a semisynthetic lipoglycopeptide in clinical development for serious gram-positive infections. This study describes the synergistic activity of oritavancin in combination with gentamicin, linezolid, moxifloxacin, or rifampin in time-kill studies against methicillin-susceptible, vancomycin-intermediate, and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Effect of polysorbate 80 on oritavancin binding to plastic surfaces: implications for susceptibility testing.

Oritavancin, a semisynthetic lipoglycopeptide with activity against gram-positive bacteria, has multiple mechanisms of action, including the inhibition of cell wall synthesis and the perturbation of the membrane potential. Approved guidelines for broth microdilution MIC assays with dalbavancin, another lipoglycopeptide, require inclusion of 0.002% polysorbate 80. To investigate the potential impact of polysorbate 80 on oritavancin susceptibility assays, we quantified the recovery of [(14)C]oritavancin from susceptibility assay plates with and without polysorbate 80 and examined the effect of the presence of polysorbate 80 on the oritavancin MICs for 301 clinical isolates from the genera Staphylococcus, Enterococcus, and Streptococcus. In the absence of polysorbate 80, [(14)C]oritavancin was rapidly lost from solution in susceptibility assay test plates: 9% of the input drug was recovered in broth at 1 h when [(14)C]oritavancin was tested at 1 mug/ml. Furthermore, proportionately greater losses were observed at lower oritavancin concentrations, suggesting saturable binding of oritavancin to surfaces. The inclusion of 0.002% polysorbate 80 or 2% lysed horse blood permitted the recovery of 80 to 100% [(14)C]oritavancin at 24 h for all drug concentrations tested. Concordantly, oritavancin MIC(90)s for streptococcal isolates, as determined in medium containing 2% lysed horse blood, were identical with and without polysorbate 80. In stark contrast, polysorbate 80 reduced the oritavancin MIC(90)s by 16- to 32-fold for clinical isolates of enterococci and staphylococci, which are typically cultured without blood. The results presented here provide evidence that the MIC data for oritavancin in the current literature significantly underestimate the potency of oritavancin in vitro. Moreover, the combination of data from MIC and [(14)C]oritavancin recovery studies supports the revision of the oritavancin broth microdilution method to include polysorbate 80 throughout the assay.

Newly defined in vitro quality control ranges for oritavancin broth microdilution testing and impact of variation in testing parameters.

A 9-laboratory M23-A2 quality control (QC) study was performed to evaluate reproducibility of oritavancin MICs against reference strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae using broth microdilution assays in the presence of polysorbate 80. Polysorbate 80 has previously been shown to be required for accurate measurement of oritavancin broth microdilution MICs. Greater than 95% of replicate results (n = 270/organism) fell within the following QC ranges (in micrograms per milliliter): S. aureus ATCC 29213, 0.015 to 0.12; E. faecalis ATCC 29212, 0.008 to 0.03; and S. pneumoniae ATCC 49619, 0.001 to 0.004. Oritavancin MIC QC ranges were, thus, narrow and reproducible. Parameters affecting testing results in the presence of polysorbate 80 were also evaluated. Oritavancin MICs were equivalent to or within 1 doubling dilution of those obtained under standard Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute testing conditions, regardless of incubation time (18, 24, or 48 h), Ca(2+) concentration, pH, or frozen panel storage time (up to 6 months).

Bisphosphonated fluoroquinolone esters as osteotropic prodrugs for the prevention of osteomyelitis.

Osteomyelitis is a difficult to treat bacterial infection of the bone. Delivering antibacterial agents to the bone may overcome the difficulties in treating this illness by effectively concentrating the antibiotic at the site of infection and by limiting the toxicity that may result from systemic exposure to the large doses conventionally used. Using bisphosphonates as osteophilic functional groups, different forms of fluoroquinolone esters were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to bind bone and to release the parent antibacterial agent. Bisphosphonated glycolamide fluoroquinolone esters were found to present a profile consistent with effective and rapid bone binding and efficient release of the active drug moiety. They were assessed for their ability to prevent bone infection in vivo and were found to be effective when the free fluoroquinolones were not.

In vitro stepwise selection of reduced susceptibility to lipoglycopeptides in enterococci.

The propensity of oritavancin to select for stably elevated oritavancin minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) was studied by serial passaging of strains in broth containing oritavancin for 20days. Seven clinical strains of Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium were studied; they included vancomycin-susceptible and both VanA and VanB vancomycin-resistant isolates. Stepwise oritavancin selection yielded stably elevated oritavancin MICs in six of the seven strains, with MIC increases ranging from 4-32-fold. By comparison, stepwise selection with comparator agents dalbavancin (4- to >128-fold MIC increases), telavancin (4-8-fold MIC increases) and daptomycin (4-32-fold MIC increases) also yielded selectants with elevated MICs of the respective agents. Oritavancin selectants retained parental MICs of vancomycin, daptomycin, linezolid and rifampicin. Some, but not all of the oritavancin selectants also showed MIC increases to the lipoglycopeptides telavancin, dalbavancin and teicoplanin, suggesting that within the lipoglycopeptide class, different mechanisms of action may be elucidated.

In vitro activity of Oritavancin against gram-positive pathogens isolated in Canadian hospital laboratories from 2011 to 2015.

Gram-positive bacterial pathogens isolated from patient specimens submitted to 15 Canadian hospital laboratories from 2011 to 2015 were tested in the coordinating laboratory for susceptibility to oritavancin and comparative antimicrobial agents using the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute M07-A10 (2015) broth microdilution method. Oritavancin's in vitro activity was equivalent to, or more potent than, vancomycin, daptomycin, linezolid, and tigecycline against methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (n=2680; oritavancin MIC90, 0.12µg/mL; 99.9% oritavancin-susceptible), methicillin-resistant S. aureus (n=728; oritavancin MIC90, 0.12µg/mL; 99.7% oritavancin-susceptible), Streptococcus pyogenes (n=218; oritavancin MIC90, 0.25µg/mL; 100% oritavancin-susceptible), Streptococcus agalactiae (n=269; oritavancin MIC90, 0.12µg/mL; 100% oritavancin-susceptible), and vancomycin-susceptible Enterococcus faecalis (n=508; oritavancin MIC90, 0.06µg/mL; 100% oritavancin-susceptible). Oritavancin, dalbavancin, and telavancin demonstrated equivalent in vitro activities (MIC90, µg/mL) against 602 isolates of MSSA (0.06, 0.06, 0.06, respectively) and 144 isolates of MRSA (0.12, 0.06, 0.06, respectively) collected in 2015.

In vitro activity of oritavancin and comparator agents against staphylococci, streptococci and enterococci from clinical infections in Europe and North America, 2011-2014.

Oritavancin is a lipoglycopeptide that has been approved for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin-structure infections (ABSSSIs) caused by susceptible organisms. Oritavancin causes cell death by inhibiting cell wall synthesis as well as depolarising and permeabilising the cellular membrane of Gram-positive pathogens. The activities of oritavancin in comparison with vancomycin, daptomycin and linezolid were determined against a collection of over 11000 recent clinical Gram-positive isolates from patient infections (2011-2014), including skin and skin-structure infections. A total of 7253 Staphylococcus aureus, 839 coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), 1464 enterococci and 1637 ß-haemolytic streptococci (ßHS) were collected from the USA and Europe. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined using Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) broth microdilution methods, and susceptibility was determined using CLSI and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (for oritavancin) breakpoint criteria. Equivalent in vitro activity (MIC50/90, 0.015-0.03/0.06 µg/mL) was observed for oritavancin against meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), meticillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) and Enterococcus faecalis in both regions. Slightly higher oritavancin MICs were obtained against CoNS, Streptococcus agalactiae, Enterococcus faecium (MIC90, 0.12 µg/mL) and against other ßHS (MIC90, 0.25 µg/mL). Oritavancin demonstrated comparatively lower MICs than daptomycin and vancomycin when tested against multidrug-resistant S. aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci and erythromycin-resistant ßHS. Oritavancin exhibited potent in vitro activity against the most common pathogens associated with ABSSSIs in the USA and Europe.

In vitro activities of oritavancin and comparators against meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates harbouring the novel mecC gene.

Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is routinely detected by amplification of the mecA gene. Recently, MRSA isolates harbouring a novel mec gene (mecC) that is not detected by mecA amplification have been reported. In this study, the activities of the lipoglycopeptide oritavancin as well as the comparators vancomycin, daptomycin and linezolid against 14 mecC MRSA isolates were studied by broth microdilution minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and time-kill assays at clinically relevant concentrations of each antibacterial agent. Oritavancin, vancomycin, daptomycin and linezolid MIC90 values (MIC required to inhibit 90% of the isolates) against the mecC isolates were 0.06, 1, 1 and 2mg/L, respectively. In time-kill assays, oritavancin at concentrations reflective of its free peak in plasma of patients receiving a single 1200 mg intravenous dose and the level 24h thereafter was bactericidal against all isolates tested, attaining 3 log kill relative to the starting inoculum between 5 min and 15 min. Vancomycin both at its free peak and free trough concentrations was also bactericidal against all isolates, attaining bactericidal activity between 6h and 24h. Daptomycin was bactericidal only at its free peak concentration, attaining bactericidal activity between 30 min and 4h against the tested isolates. Linezolid was bacteriostatic (<3 log kill relative to the starting inoculum) against the tested isolates. Oritavancin's in vitro activity against mecC MRSA isolates was indistinguishable from that against mecA MRSA isolates both in MIC and time-kill assays.