The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 273 No 7325 p709
13 November 2004

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First glycylcycline antibiotic shows promise as treatment for abdominal infections

First glycylcycline antibiotic shows promise as treatment for abdominal infections
Tigecycline, the first in a new antibiotic class — the glycylcyclines — is showing promise as a treatment for abdominal infections.

Data from several clinical trials of the drug were presented at the annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Washington, last week.
One study, sponsored by Wyeth Research, compared tigecycline with a combination of imipenem and cilastatin (Primaxin) for the treatment of abdominal infections. In patients who had a positive culture, the microbiological eradication rate was 91.3 per cent for tigecycline monotherapy compared with 89.9 per cent for the combination of imipenem/cilastatin. A similar safety and tolerability profile was reported for the two groups.

Tigecycline is described by Wyeth as a structurally distinct and re-engineered tetracycline. A modification at the ninth position of its core structure enables it to bind to the 30S ribosomal subunit with increased affinity compared with any prior generation tetracycline. This means it can overcome typical bacterial resistance to tetracyclines mediated by efflux pumps and ribosomal protection.

Wyeth hopes to launch tigecycline worldwide as Tygacil towards the end of 2005.