Levofloxacin is a synthetic antibacterial molecule that forms the basis of most common drugs against bacterial infections, used to prevent illnesses caused by anthrax, travellers’ diarrhoea or plague. Its action inhibits bacterial DNA enzymes, blocking their proliferation, and is effective with a broad spectrum of pathogens.
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What is Levofloxacin?
Levofloxacin (Levofloxacin Hemihydrate) is the optically active S-isomer of the fluoroquinolone antibiotic ofloxacin, which is more potent than ofloxacin and has fewer side effects in the treatment of many bacterial infections, including those of the lower respiratory tract (pneumonia, chronic brochitis, sinusitis), skin, prostate, kidney and urinary tract infections. It is also used in the prevention of anthrax, traveller’s diarrhoea and plague.
Levofloxacin kills bacteria susceptible to its action by inhibiting the replication of their DNA. Worldwide, levofloxacin was first validated in Japan in 1993 and then in the US by the FDA in 1996, and was approved in Canada and several South American countries soon after.
In the EU, approval was first granted in the UK in 1997 and subsequently in eleven other Member States: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain through the mutual recognition procedure (MRP).
Levoflocaxin formulations
In oral and intravenous formulations, levofloxacin is indicated in adults. The oral formulation is also indicated in both adults and children aged 6 months and older for the post-exposure management of inhalational anthrax caused by Bacillus anthracis and for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of plague caused by Yersinia pestis.
In its ophthalmic formulation, levofloxacin is indicated for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis caused by susceptible organisms. An inhalational solution available in Canada is indicated for the management of cystic fibrosis patients aged 18 years or older with chronic pulmonary Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections.
Mechanisms of action of Levofloxacin
Levofloxacin has a broad antibacterial spectrum in vitro including Gram-positive organisms such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, regardless of resistance phenotype, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococci spp. susceptible to methicillin, troublesome Gram-negative bacteria such as Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Enterobacteriaceae such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. and organisms responsible for atypical infections such as Legionella, Mycoplasma and Chlamydophila
Levofloxacin, like other fluoroquinolone antibiotics, exerts its antimicrobial activity by inhibiting two key bacterial enzymes: DNA gyrase and topoisomerase. Inhibition of these enzymes by levofloxacin probably occurs through complexation with topoisomerase enzymes. The end result is a blockade of DNA replication, thereby inhibiting cell division and causing cell death.
Levofloxacin is in Flarer’s pharmaceutical actives portfolio. Flarer makes the pharmaceutical sector its core business, and holds the Swiss medic certification, which expresses compliance with international directives and GMP (good manufacturing practices) and GDP (good distribution practies).
Flarer also cares about the qualification of its partners in the supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients by means of documented and on-site audits, and by conducting external analyses in the case of complaints or for checks and inspections of raw materials. The aim is always to verify the high quality standards of our products in line with market requirements.