CEM-101 (Cempra) effective in Phase II study against N. gonorrhoeae

Cempra Inc. has announced data will be presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) demonstrating that CEM-101 (solithromycin) is active against antibiotic-resistant strains of N. gonorrhoeae. The investigators of the study compared the activity of solithromycin to several antibiotics including a number of macrolides and third-generation cephalosporins such as ceftriaxone. By measuring the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of these agents against a global collection of 246 clinical isolates and reference strains with various antibacterial genotypes and phenotypes, including the recently-described extensively drug-resistant N. gonorrhoeae strains, H041 and F89, they found that only 2 percent of the isolates had an MIC >0.5 ug/ml for solithromycin whereas 38 percent of the isolates had an azithromycin MIC >0.5mg/L. Additionally, solithromycin was highly active against the two extensively drug-resistant strains. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of solithromycin was significantly superior to those of all of the macrolides evaluated as well as to nearly all other classes of antimicrobials tested. The data suggested that solithromycin is an anti-gonococcal antibiotic candidate.