The discovery of ceftazidime/avibactam as an anti-Mycobacterium avium agent

OBJECTIVES: To determine if ceftaroline and ceftazidime combined with avibactam are efficacious against pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) disease. METHODS: First, we performed a concentration-effect study of ceftaroline and ceftaroline/avibactam against extracellular MAC in test tubes. Given the difficulty of obtaining avibactam at the time of experimentation, we used a single concentration of commercial ceftazidime/avibactam, and two sets of non-treated controls, one with ceftazidime/avibactam and the other without. After finding antimicrobial activity with the ceftazidime/avibactam 'control', we performed ceftazidime/avibactam dose-effect studies in test tubes against extracellular MAC and in 24-well plates against intracellular MAC. We then performed a ceftazidime/avibactam exposure-effect and dose-fractionation studies in the hollow-fibre system model of intracellular pulmonary MAC (HFS-MAC). In each experiment, we repetitively sampled each HFS-MAC at specified times to validate ceftazidime/avibactam pharmacokinetics and to quantify bacterial burden. RESULTS: Ceftaroline killed extracellular MAC with maximal microbial kill (Emax) of 4.87 ± 0.26 log10 cfu/mL. However, the ceftazidime/avibactam 'control' also killed MAC compared with the non-treated control. Ceftazidime/avibactam Emax was 3.8 log10 cfu/mL against extracellular bacilli and 3.6 log10 cfu/mL against intracellular MAC. In the HFS-MAC, ceftazidime/avibactam achieved a half-life of 2.5-3.3 h and killed MAC 0.61-2.40 log10 cfu/mL below the starting bacterial burden. The ceftazidime/avibactam efficacy was linked to the proportion of the dosing interval for which the concentration persists above the MIC (fT>MIC), with optimal efficacy at free-drug fT>MIC of 52% (r2 = 0.95). CONCLUSIONS: Ceftazidime/avibactam effectively kills MAC at exposures easily achieved in the lung by clinical doses. Efficacy was higher than with clinically achievable doses of azithromycin and ethambutol.