EDP-420 (also known as EP-013420, or S-013420) is a first-in-class bridged bicyclolide currently in clinical development for the treatment of respiratory tract infections (RTI) and has previously shown favorable pharmacokinetic (PK) and safety profiles after the administration of single oral doses of a suspension to healthy volunteers. Here we report its PK profile after the administration of multiple oral doses of a suspension to healthy adults. Bioequivalence between suspension and capsule formulations, as well as the effect of food, is also reported. The most important PK features of EDP-420 observed in these clinical studies are its long half-life of 17 to 18 h and its high systemic exposure, which support once-daily dosing and treatment durations potentially shorter than those of most other macrolide antibiotics. EDP-420 is readily absorbed following oral administration in both suspension and capsule formulations. In the multiple-oral-dose study, steady state was achieved on day 1 by using a loading dose of 400 mg/day, followed by 2 days of 200 mg/day. A high-fat meal had no effect on the bioavailability of EDP-420 administered in a capsule formulation. EDP-420 was well tolerated, with no serious or severe adverse events reported, and no subject was discontinued from the study due to an adverse event. Based on its human PK and safety profiles, together with its in vitro/in vivo activities against common respiratory pathogens, EDP-420 warrants further development, including trials for clinical efficacy in the treatment of RTI.Macrolides are currently used as a first-line treatment for respiratory tract infections (RTIs), including community-acquired pneumonia, acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis, acute sinusitis, pharyngitis/tonsillitis, and otitis media (5, 37). The extensive clinical usage of macrolides has resulted in the rapid emergence of macrolide resistance, particularly among streptococci, staphylococci, and enterococci (1, 13, 38). Thus, there is an urgent need to develop new antibiotics with activity against a broad spectrum of pathogens (especially resistant strains) commonly encountered in community-acquired RTIs. The design of EDP-420 (formerly known as EP-013420, or S-013420) was undertaken in response to this unmet medical need.EDP-420 represents a novel structural class of bridged bicyclolide antibacterial agents (36) (the structure is shown in Fig. 1). It exhibits potent in vitro activities against RTI pathogens, including multidrug-resistant streptococci and the atypical pathogens (e.g., Chlamydia pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Legionella pneumophila) (4, 10, 19, 24, 27-32, 34, 39). In vivo, EDP-420 has also demonstrated efficacy against Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Mycobacterium avium in mouse protection tests, against S. pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae in a rat lung infection model, and against penicillin-and quinoloneresistant pneumococci in a rabbit meningitis model (2-4, 22, 23, 25, 32-34). The nonclinical pharmacok...