In vitro anti-Helicobacter pylori activities of new rifamycin derivatives, KRM-1648 and KRM-1657

The new rifamycin derivatives KRM-1657 and KRM-1648 were evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial activities against 44 strains of Helicobacter pylori. Although the drugs were not very active against other gram-negative bacteria, the MICs at which 90% of isolates are inhibited for these drugs were lower (0.002 and 0.008 mu g/ml, respectively) than those of amoxicillin and rifampin for H. pylori. Time-kill studies revealed that the bactericidal activities of these agents were due to cell lysis. The results presented here indicate that these new rifamycin derivatives may be useful for the eradication of H. pylori infections.