Antibiotic Drugs

Sparfloxacin is expected to be especially useful against penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae and multidrug-resistant H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis. Rhone-Poulenc Rorer is also studying the use of sparfloxacin for acute maxillary sinusitis, skin infection, and complicated urinary tract infection. In clinical trials, sparfloxacin (Zagam) was comparable to erythromycin and cefaclor for clearing community-acquired pneumonia.

Tuberculosis, once thought to be a disease virtually eliminated in the first world has become a major health concern. Health care workers, the immunosuppressed, and HIV-positive people are particularly at risk. The rising rate of infection with M. tuberculosis along with the increase in antibiotic-resistant strains has made the development of new antibiotics for the treatment of tuberculosis of major importance for public health. Rifapentine (Priften, Hoechst Marion Roussel), a member of the rifamycin class of antibiotics, was approved in June, 1998 for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Antibiotics are often an essential component of the therapeutic plan that is developed to improve the clinical course of a patient. Typically, certain antibiotics are better for a given clinical condition. Allergies to these antibiotics, however, may limit the use of these antibiotics and in certain cases may complicate the course of optimal care. Allergies to antibiotics have become an great hindrance to the clinician.

Anthrax has caused disease in animals for centuries, but its threat as a biological weapon has become most apparent in the last 80 years. Today at least 17 nations are believed to have offensive biological weapons programs in place, and it is not known for sure how many are working with anthrax. Iraq, in particular, has acknowledged that it is producing anthrax for such potential use. Infection with anthrax, which is caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, is usually fatal.

Carbapenem antibiotics were first discovered in the 1970s. The first and only marketed agent in this class was Primaxin, a combination product containing imipenem and the human renal dihyropeptidase-I (DHP-I) antagonist cilastatin.

Daptomycin (Cubicin) is a cyclic lipopeptide natural product and thus represents a new structural class of antibacterial drugs with a mechanism of action that is different from those of other available antibiotics. It produces its antimicrobial effects by binding to bacterial membranes and causing a rapid depolarization of membrane potential.