Iclaprim codenamed AR-100 and RO-48-2622, is a diaminopyrimidine

Diaminopyrimidine

Diaminopyrimidines are a class of organic chemical compounds that include two amine groups on a pyrimidine ring.They include many dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor drugs .Some have been patented as anti-cancer drugs....

 dihydrofolate reductase

Dihydrofolate reductase

- Function :Dihydrofolate reductase converts dihydrofolate into tetrahydrofolate, a methyl group shuttle required for the de novo synthesis of purines, thymidylic acid, and certain amino acids...

 inhibitor

Enzyme inhibitor

An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to enzymes and decreases their activity. Since blocking an enzyme's activity can kill a pathogen or correct a metabolic imbalance, many drugs are enzyme inhibitors. They are also used as herbicides and pesticides...

 being developed for the treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections caused by antibiotic-resistant

Antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance is a type of drug resistance where a microorganism is able to survive exposure to an antibiotic. While a spontaneous or induced genetic mutation in bacteria may confer resistance to antimicrobial drugs, genes that confer resistance can be transferred between bacteria in a...

 bacteria. It is structurally related to trimethoprim

Trimethoprim

Trimethoprim is a bacteriostatic antibiotic mainly used in the prophylaxis and treatment of urinary tract infections.It belongs to the class of chemotherapeutic agents known as dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors...

. In Phase III clinical trial

Clinical trial

Clinical trials are a set of procedures in medical research and drug development that are conducted to allow safety and efficacy data to be collected for health interventions...

s, intravenously

Intravenous therapy

Intravenous therapy or IV therapy is the infusion of liquid substances directly into a vein. The word intravenous simply means "within a vein". Therapies administered intravenously are often called specialty pharmaceuticals...

-administered iclaprim was found to be as effective as and better tolerated than linezolid

Linezolid

Linezolid is a synthetic antibiotic used for the treatment of serious infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria that are resistant to several other antibiotics...

 in people with skin and soft tissue infections, many caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. It is also called multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus...

 (MRSA). In vitro

In vitro

In vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...

, iclaprim is highly active against MRSA, vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus refers to strains of Staphylococcus aureus that have become resistant to the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin. With the increase of staphylococcal resistance to methicillin, vancomycin is often a treatment of choice in infections with...

 (VRSA), strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus, is Gram-positive, alpha-hemolytic, aerotolerant anaerobic member of the genus Streptococcus. A significant human pathogenic bacterium, S...

resistant to several common antibiotics, and some Gram-negative bacteria.

A new drug application

New drug application

The New Drug Application is the vehicle in the United States through which drug sponsors formally propose that the Food and Drug Administration approve a new pharmaceutical for sale and marketing...

 for iclaprim was filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March 2008, and a marketing authorisation application (MAA) was accepted by the European Medicines Agency

European Medicines Agency

The European Medicines Agency is a European agency for the evaluation of medicinal products. From 1995 to 2004, the European Medicines Agency was known as European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products.Roughly parallel to the U.S...

 on August 21, 2008. Phase II clinical trials are being conducted to assess whether iclaprim can be taken by mouth as well as intravenously and whether it is effective for the treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia

Hospital-acquired pneumonia

Hospital-acquired pneumonia or nosocomial pneumonia refers to any pneumonia contracted by a patient in a hospital at least 48–72 hours after being admitted. It is usually caused by a bacterial infection, rather than a virus....

.

Iclaprim has been granted fast track

FDA Fast Track Development Program

The FDA Fast Track Development Program is a designation of the United States Food and Drug Administration that accelerates the approval of investigational new drugs undergoing clinical trials with the goal review time of 60 days...

status by the FDA.