MRSA pathogen influences U.S. physician drug selection for treating skin structure infections

Arlington Medical Resources (AMR), a provider of premier market intelligence for the pharmaceutical and diagnostic imaging industries, finds that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the most concerning pathogen to surveyed U.S. physicians with regard to their treatment of skin and skin structure infections. A drug's activity against MRSA is among the top factors that influences U.S. physician drug selection for treating skin and skin structure infections. Other factors that influence prescribing include an agent's bactericidal activity, its degree of skin penetration and recommended use by national and hospital guidelines.

The new report entitled Hospital Anti-Infectives Insight Series: Skin & Skin Structure Infections also finds that the success of Pfizer's Zyvox and Cubist's Cubicin is driven strongly by these agents' excellent activity against MRSA. Although surveyed physicians indicate that vancomycin and Zyvox are the most commonly prescribed agents for empiric coverage of MRSA, Zyvox has a clear advantage in terms of dual IV/oral formulation, while vancomycin use is largely driven by its inclusion on hospital formularies and physician familiarity with the agent.

"Surveyed internists noted concerns about increasing vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and patient failure to respond to vancomycin therapy. While vancomycin will continue to dominate prescribing for complicated skin and skin structure infections, these shortcomings will lead to increased use of novel agents, specifically Zyvox, Cubicin and Wyeth's Tygacil," stated James Andersen, analyst at AMR.