Tigecycline: a review of preclinical and clinical studies of the first-in-class glycylcycline antibiotic.

Tigecycline is a novel glycylcycline antibacterial agent discovered and developed by Wyeth Research. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the agent for use in patients with complicated skin infections, skin-structure infections and intra-abdominal infections. Tigecycline is currently under review by regulatory agencies worldwide. Global clinical trials are underway to further assess the efficacy of tigecycline for community- and hospital- acquired pneumonia. Because of the expanded broad spectrum of activity of tigecycline with proven utility against Gram-positive, Gram-negative, anaerobic and atypical pathogens in addition to resistant organisms of clinical importance--community- and hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp., penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae and Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae expressing extended-spectrum beta-lactamases--this novel antibiotic has come into clinical use at a critical time and will be a welcome asset to the current armamentarium.