Thomas R. Parr

Oritavancin Kills Stationary-Phase and Biofilm Staphylococcus aureus Cells In Vitro

ABSTRACT 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 μg/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.

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.

Oritavancin Disrupts Membrane Integrity of Staphylococcus aureus and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci To Effect Rapid Bacterial Killing

ABSTRACT 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.

Comparative In Vitro Activity Profile of Oritavancin against Recent Gram-Positive Clinical Isolates

ABSTRACT 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 μg/ml; the MIC90 against S. aureus was 0.12 μg/ml. Against E. faecalis and E. faecium, oritavancin MIC90s were 0.06 and 0.12, respectively. Oritavancin was active against glycopeptide-resistant enterococci, including VanA strains (n = 486), with MIC90s of 0.25 and 1 μg/ml against VanA E. faecium and E. faecalis, respectively. Oritavancin showed potent activity against streptococci (n = 2,468); MIC90s for the different streptococcal species were between 0.008 and 1 μg/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.

Comparative in vitro activity of oritavancin against Staphylococcus aureus strains that are resistant, intermediate or heteroresistant to vancomycin

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Activity of oritavancin and comparators in vitro against standard and high inocula of Staphylococcus aureus

In this study, the impact of inoculum density on the growth inhibitory and killing activities of oritavancin and comparators (vancomycin, daptomycin and linezolid) in vitro against four Staphylococcus aureus strains at clinically relevant drug concentrations was studied. Broth microdilution and time-kill assays were performed using a standard inoculum [ca. 10(5)colony-forming units (CFU)/mL as per Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines] and a high inoculum (ca. 10(7)CFU/mL). Whereas minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of comparators were 2-8-fold higher when tested at high inoculum, oritavancin MICs were 16-fold higher for all strains at the high inoculum relative to the standard inoculum. However, in time-kill assays, when tested at its fC(min) [trough concentration of free (non-protein-bound) drug] and fC(max) (peak concentration of non-protein-bound drug), oritavancin retained its bactericidal activity against a vancomycin-susceptible, meticillin-susceptible S. aureus (VS-MSSA) strain and a vancomycin-susceptible, meticillin-resistant S. aureus (VS-MRSA) strain both at standard and high inocula. At its fC(max), oritavancin was bactericidal at standard inoculum but not at high inoculum against two vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA) strains. Against both VISA strains at standard inoculum, oritavancin at its fC(min) reduced cell density by between 2 and 3 log (bacteriostatic), predicting that it will retain activity against certain VISA infections. However, oritavancin had no substantial growth inhibitory effect against either VISA strain at high inoculum, suggesting that in rare VISA infections with an anticipated high bacterial burden such as endocarditis, alternative oritavancin dosing strategies, including combinations with other agents, may be explored.

Assessment of Oritavancin Serum Protein Binding across Species

ABSTRACT 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.

Impact of Human Serum Albumin on Oritavancin In Vitro Activity against Enterococci

ABSTRACT 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.

Time–kill kinetics of oritavancin and comparator agents against Streptococcus pyogenes☆

The activity of oritavancin in vitro against recent clinical isolates of Streptococcus pyogenes, including antibiotic-resistant strains, was characterised by determination of broth microdilution minimal inhibitory concentrations as well as time-kill assays. Ten clinical isolates of S. pyogenes, three of which were resistant to erythromycin, as well as one reference S. pyogenes strain were tested. In the time-kill assays, oritavancin and the comparators vancomycin, teicoplanin, linezolid, penicillin, erythromycin and daptomycin were tested at static concentrations approximating their free peak (fC(max)) and free trough (fC(min)) concentrations in plasma when administered at approved doses for skin and skin-structure infections. At its fC(max) predicted from a 200 mg dose in humans, oritavancin exerted bactericidal activity (> or = 3 log kill relative to the starting inoculum) within 15 min to 3 h against all tested strains. Daptomycin exhibited bactericidal activity at its fC(max) for all but one strain; time to cidality was between 15 min and 6 h. At fC(min), only oritavancin was bactericidal against all the tested strains. Oritavancin displayed concentration-dependent killing of all isolates in vitro. Oritavancin was more rapidly bactericidal than the comparators at physiologically relevant concentrations against all strains tested. These data support the potential utility of oritavancin in infections with contemporary isolates of S. pyogenes, including drug-resistant strains.

Role of beta-lactamase in in vivo development of ceftazidime resistance in experimental Pseudomonas aeruginosa endocarditis.

Two ceftazidime-resistant variants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA-48, PA-60), obtained from cardiac vegetations of rabbits with endocarditis receiving ceftazidime therapy, were studied for mechanisms of resistance. Both resistant variants were stably derepressed for the type Id beta-lactamase, which was ceftazidime inducible in the parental strain (PA-96) used to initially infect the rabbits. There was no evidence of ceftazidime bioinactivation by the resistant strains, and their outer membrane permeabilities were comparable to those of the parental strain. No alterations were observed in patterns of outer membrane proteins or membrane lipopolysaccharides in the resistant variants as compared with the parental strain. Penicillin-binding protein patterns of the resistant variants revealed the absence of penicillin-binding protein 4 in both, with acquisition of a new protein of higher apparent molecular weight in PA-60. Calculation of the rate of appearance of ceftazidime in the periplasm at sub-MICs suggested that slow enzymatic hydrolysis of the beta-lactam, rather than nonhydrolytic trapping, was the major explanation for the induced resistance in vivo in strains PA-48 and PA-60. Images