Under the agreement, Quintiles will provide commercial services including a dedicated field force, medical science liaisons, and market access support in selected countries.
Zevtera/Mabelio has gained regulatory authorization from twelve European states for the treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia and community-acquired pneumonia in patients 18 years of age and older, and is currently under regulatory review in Switzerland.
"At a time when antibiotic resistance is a major healthcare threat throughout Europe, we are very pleased to be launching Zevtera/Mabelio, a new broad-spectrum antibiotic also covering MRSA and providing physicians with a new option to treat severe bacterial infections," Basilea's CEO Ronald Scott said. "We have initially opted to commercialize our products in Europe through Quintiles in order to retain flexibility and to more fully participate in the economic upside of our products. The agreement with Quintiles allows us to scale and optimize our resources during the launch of Zevtera/Mabelio on a country-by-country basis."
Quintiles also recently established a contract with BioDelivery Services International to support the expected launch of a maintenance treatment for opioid dependence.
Scott added: "We have made significant progress on national pricing and reimbursement and anticipate launching Zevtera in Germany in the second half of 2014, followed by launches in other key European markets in 2015. In parallel, we continue to assess opportunities for distribution and licensing partnerships in other parts of the world."