What to Expect in June's Editor-in-Chief Letter

Jason Gallagher, PharmD, FCCP, FIDSA, BCPS, clinical professor at Temple University College of Pharmacy and editor-in-chief of Contagion®, previews his editor-in-chief letter for the June issue.

"The editor-in-chief letter for the June issue of Contagion® focuses on the story of Achaogen and what this may mean for us. Achaogen is a pharmaceutical company that developed plazomicin over many years successfully through 2 successful clinical trials, 1 of which led to their approval and a package insert, where they have an indication for complicated urinary tract infections. Now, this drug made all the way to the market and very quickly after it became approved, unfortunately, the company filed for bankruptcy. My letter discusses what its relevance may be for us, whether this company's failure serves as a canary in the coalmine for future antimicrobial development, and other small companies and what their fate may be. Or is it just the situation of a suboptimal therapy making its way to the market and then the market deciding that they actually don't want it. I truthfully don't know what the answer is to which of these describes its fate most directly. I think it's a mixed message of both, truthfully, but it's a concerning one because the antibiotic development has shifted from large companies to small ones that are much more vulnerable to market forces and even dilemmas with investors."