New antibiotic for the treatment of mycoplasmosis and resistant STDs

Mycoplasma genitalium is the cause of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in both women and men. Antibiotic resistance is now becoming a major problem in the treatment of STDs, and mycoplasma is no exception. For the treatment of mycoplasmosis, a two-stage therapy using doxycycline and azithromycin has been proposed. The resistance of Mycoplasma genitalium to fluroquinolones has also been reported.

Based on this, scientists have proposed an alternative in the form of a modern drug known as lefamulin. Lefamulin is a pleuromutilin with a new mechanism of action. It is a semi-synthetic compound that inhibits bacterial protein synthesis by binding to the 50S subunit in the center of peptidyl transferase, thereby preventing the formation of peptide bonds. This antibiotic penetrates into the tissues of the genitourinary system. The risk of cross-resistance with other classes of antibiotics is very low. Lefamulin has a rather potent in vitro activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. According to preliminary data, this agent has a high activity against pathogens causing other STDs.

Source: healio