Tigemonam, an oral monobactam.

Tigemonam is an orally administered monobactam. At less than or equal to 1 microgram/ml it inhibited the majority of strains of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Enterobacter aerogenes, Citrobacter diversus, Proteus spp., Providencia spp., Aeromonas hydrophila, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Serratia marcescens, and Yersinia enterocolitica. At less than or equal to 0.25 microgram/ml it inhibited Haemophilus spp., Neisseria spp., and Branhamella catarrhalis. It did not inhibit Pseudomonas spp. or Acinetobacter spp. Tigemonam was more active than cephalexin and amoxicillin-clavulanate and inhibited many members of the family Enterobacteriaceae resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and gentamicin. Some Enterobacter cloacae and Citrobacter freundii strains resistant to aminothiazole iminomethoxy cephalosporins and aztreonam were resistant to tigemonam. The MIC for 90% of hemolytic streptococci of groups A, B, and C and for Streptococcus pneumoniae was 16 micrograms/ml, but the MIC for 90% of enterococci, Listeria spp., Bacteroides spp., and viridans group streptococci was greater than 64 micrograms/ml. Tigemonam was not hydrolyzed by the common plasmid beta-lactamases such as TEM-1 and SHV-1 or by the chromosomal beta-lactamases of Enterobacter, Morganella, Pseudomonas, and Bacteroides spp. Tigemonam inhibited beta-lactamases of E. cloacae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa but did not induce beta-lactamases. The growth medium had a minimal effect on the in vitro activity of tigemonam, and there was a close agreement between the MICs and MBCs.