That's because the drugs are used for only weeks at a time, compared with years for medicines that treat chronic diseases. U.S. sales of the top five antibiotics were a combined $6 billion in 2010, according to IMS Health Inc., a Norwalk, Connecticut-based research company. Pfizer Inc.'s cholesterol pill Lipitor, designed to cut the chances of a heart attack, generated $5.3 billion in U.S. sales on its own.
Additionally, doctors are advised to limit antibiotic treatment because of concerns that overuse can spur resistance, actions that have an unintended effect on sales, said Hank McKinnell, who retired as chief executive officer at New York- based Pfizer in 2006, and now serves on Optimer's board.
"It takes the incentives away to do the research and get them approved to then not have them used," McKinnell said in a telephone interview.
Open Field
This lack of interest has left the field open for biotech companies, such as Optimer.
The company's Dificid, backed unanimously by an FDA advisory panel April 5, would be the first drug in 25 years approved to treat Clostridium difficile, a bacterium linked to intestinal infections often caught in hospitals.
In trials, Dificid was as effective as existing medications at controlling infections, giving doctors a new option when resistance strikes. It was better at preventing recurrences.
Other biotechnology companies conducting late-stage testing on new antibiotics are likely to submit applications for approval about 2013, said Juan Sanchez, an analyst with Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. in New York.
Trius is studying its antibiotic torezolid to treat skin infections, said Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Stein. It will compete with Pfizer's Zyvox, an 11-year-old drug with $1.2 billion in 2010 sales, and may generate $600 million a year by 2020, said Sanchez, who sees approval in 2014.
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