Pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and clinical efficacy of telavancin in the treatment of pneumonia.

INTRODUCTION: Telavancin is a novel lipoglycopeptide derivative of vancomycin that has activity against Gram-positive aerobic and anerobic bacteria, for the treatment of serious infections, including complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI) and pneumonia. AREAS COVERED: This article was compiled through searches on telavancin up to December 2015 in the PubMed and the clinicaltrials.gov databases; the FDA and European Medicine Agency (EMA) websites. In our review, particular attention was paid to those articles that reviewed the pharmacokinetic characteristics of the drug and animal models of infection. We also searched for evidence of the efficacy of telavancin as demonstrated in clinical trials, safety and tolerability data and have compiled a summary of clinical trials on telavancin in pneumonia. EXPERT OPINION: Telavancin is approved in Europe and the USA for the treatment of nosocomial pneumonia caused by methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus when other alternatives are not suitable.