Gepotidacin, a new first-in-class antibiotic for treating uncomplicated urinary tract infection

Urinary tract infection is the most common bacterial infection affecting humans worldwide and one of the most frequently treated with antibiotics. Women are particularly susceptible to uncomplicated urinary tract infections, with 50–60% of women estimated to have at least one episode of uncomplicated urinary tract infection in their lifetime. 1 Brumbaugh AR Mobley HLT Preventing urinary tract infection: progress toward an effective Escherichia coli vaccine. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2012; 11: 663-676 Crossref PubMed Scopus (156) Google Scholar In the past decade, antimicrobial resistance has increasingly limited the use of commonly used agents. 2 Li X Fan H Zi H et al. Global and regional burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in urinary tract infections in 2019. J Clin Med. 2022; 112817 Google Scholar This issue has been further compounded by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic 3 Cucinotta D Vanelli M WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic. Acta Biomed. 2020; 91: 157-160 PubMed Google Scholar on the delivery of primary health care. The difficulty in meeting patients' demand for appointments coupled with problems in antibiotic supply chains has made it difficult for patients to secure effective treatments for uncomplicated urinary tract infection and has increased the risks of progression to complicated or recurrent urinary tract infections. Within this context, the development of a new oral agent is of both great clinical interest and value. Oral gepotidacin versus nitrofurantoin in patients with uncomplicated urinary tract infection (EAGLE-2 and EAGLE-3): two randomised, controlled, double-blind, double-dummy, phase 3, non-inferiority trialsGepotidacin is an efficacious oral antibiotic with acceptable safety and tolerability profiles. As a first-in-class investigational oral antibiotic with activity against common uropathogens, including clinically important drug-resistant phenotypes, gepotidacin has the potential to offer substantial benefit to patients. Full-Text PDF