ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF DU-6859, A NEW POTENT FLUOROQUINOLONE, AGAINST CLINICAL ISOLATES

DU-6859, (-)-7-[(7S)-amino-5-azaspiro(2,4)heptan-5-yl]-8-chloro-6-fluoro-1-[(1R,2R)-cis-2-fluoro-1-cyclopropyl]-1,4-dihydro-4-oxoquinolone-3-carboxylic acid, is a new fluoroquinolone with antibacterial activity which is significantly better than those of currently available quinolones. The MICs for 90% of methicillin-susceptible and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis clinical isolates (MIC90s) were 0.1, 3.13, 0.1, and 0.390-mu-g/ml, respectively. MIC50s of DU-6859 against quinolone-resistant, methicillin-resistant S. aureus were 8-, 32-, 64-, and 128-fold lower than those of tosufloxacin and sparfloxacin, ofloxacin and fleroxacin, ciprofloxacin, and lomefloxacin, respectively. DU-6859 inhibited the growth of all strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes at 0.1 and 0.2-mu-g/ml, respectively, and was more active against enterococci than the other quinolones tested. Although the activity of DU-6859 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa was roughly comparable to that of ciprofloxacin at the MIC50 level, it was fourfold more active than ciprofloxacin at the MIC90 level. DU-6859 was also more active against other glucose-nonfermenting bacteria, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, than the other drugs tested. Strains of Bacteroides fragilis and Peptostreptococcus spp. were susceptible to DU-6859; MIC90s were 0.39 and 0.2-mu-g/ml, respectively. DU-6859 generally showed activities twofold or greater than those of ciprofloxacin and the other drugs against almost all members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The action of DU-6859 against the clinical isolates was bactericidal at concentrations near the MICs. DU-6859 activity was not affected by different media, pH, inoculum size, or human serum but was decreased in human urine.