The activity of cefmenoxime (SCE-1365), 7,8-[2-(2-aminothiazol-4-yl)-(Z)-2-methoxyiminoacetamido]-3-[(1-methyl-1H-tetrazol-5-yl)thiomethyl]ceph-3-em-4-carboxylic acid, was compared with that of other cephalosporins. Cefinenoxime exhibited high activity against a wide variety of gram-positive and gramnegative bacteria. The in vitro activity of cefmenoxime against Streptococcus pyogenes, Haemophilus influenzae, and Enterobacteriaceae, including indolepositive Proteus, Serratia marcescens, Enterobacter cloacae, and Citrobacter freundii, was 10 to 1,000 times greater than that of several other cephalosporins. Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, cefmenoxime showed activity two to four times that of sulbenicillin and carbenicillin but less than that of cefsulodin. Variation in pH, addition of horse serum, and type of growth medium had definite effects on the activity of cefmenoxime, and the inoculum size affected the activity against bacterial species. In Escherichia coli cefmenoxime showed marked affinity for penicillin-binding protein 3 (PBP-3), followed by PBP-1 (1A and 1B). This affinity profile was well correlated with its filamentous cell-forming activity under extremely low drug concentrations and with its bactericidal activity against microorganisms. The high in vitro activity of cefmenoxime was reflected in the degree of protection observed in mice infected intraperitoneally with a wide variety of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, cefmenoxime showed good therapeutic activity against infection models in mice such as respiratory tract infection caused by Klebsiellapneumoniae and urinary tract infection caused by Proteus mirabilis.In recent years, with the increasing use of cephalosporins, an increasing number of infections caused by cephalosporin-resistant bacteria have been observed. The present report concerns the activity of cefmenoxime (SCE-1365),

SCE-963 {7beta-[2-(2-aminothiazol-4-yl)acetamido]-3-[({1-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)- 1H-tetrazol-5-yl}thio)methyl]-ceph-3-em-4-carboxylic acid}, a new semisynthetic cephalosporin, showed excellent antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including Haemophilus influenzae, indole-positive Proteus, Enterobacter species, and Citrobacter freundii. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of SCE-963 against most strains of clinically isolated Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, H. influenzae, and Proteus mirabilis were within the range of 0.2 to 0.78 mug/ml. These activities were about 10 times more potent than those of cefazolin, cephaloridine, and cephalothin. Variations in pH, addition of horse serum, and type of growth medium had no significant effect on the activity of the cephalosporin, but the inoculum size elicited a considerable effect on the activity of beta-lactamase-producing strains of bacteria. SCE-963 exerted bactericidal and bacteriolytic effects on Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli. The pronounced in vitro activity was reflected in the remarkable protection in mice infected with a wide range of gram-negative bacteria, such as E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, Proteus morganii, and Proteus rettgeri. The protective effects of SCE-963 in mice infected with E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and P. vulgaris varied according to the challenge dose. The activity of SCE-963 was far more potent when the drug was administered parenterally rather than orally.

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Cefmenoxime, a new cephalosporin antibiotic, has been shown to be stable to a Staphylococcus aureus penicillinase and R plasmid-mediated type I and type IV penicillinases. It was also resistant to hydrolysis by most cephalosporinases, but was susceptible to hydrolysis by a Proteus vulgaris beta-lactamase. Cefmenoxime was active against cephaloridine-resistant species, except Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which was moderately resistant to cefmenoxime. Cefmenoxime was an inducer of P. vulgaris beta-lactamase biosynthesis, but 1 microgram or more of the drug per ml, which inhibits most of the clinical isolates of P. vulgaris, was required for the production of detectable amounts of the enzyme. Cefmenoxime was a strong competitive inhibitor of beta-lactamases of Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter freundii, P. aeruginosa, and Serratia marcescens, but it did not inhibit penicillinases in spite of its resistance to hydrolysis.

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