ABSTRACT
Solithromycin, formerly OP-1068 (Optimer), then CEM-101 (Cempra), is a novel fluoroketolide antimicrobial with broad activity against a wide range of Gram-negative and Grampositive organisms, including intracellular and atypical pathogens such as Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Legionella pneumophila. The ketolides, originally developed to treat macrolide-resistant pneumococci in respiratory tract infections, are semisynthetic derivatives of erythromycin A and form part of the macrolide–lincosamide–streptogramin (MLSB) group of antibiotics. They act by inhibiting protein synthesis as a consequence of their binding to bacterial ribosomes (Llano-Sotelo et al., 2010). It is thought that solithromycin, in contrast to other MLSB agents, has enhanced activity because of three sites of interaction with the 23S ribosomal subunit, due to the absence of cladinose and the presence of an alkyl-aryl side chain, compared to one or two sites of interaction for other MLSB antibiotics (Llano-Sotelo et al., 2010).
