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------------------------------------------------------------------------ FDA Approves Two New Fluoroquinolones ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WESTPORT, Dec 24, 1996 (Reuters) - The FDA has approved two once-a-day antibiotics to treat adults with respiratory infections, Ortho-McNeil's levofloxacin (Levaquin) and Rhone-Poulenc Rorer's sparfloxacin (Zagram). Both drugs belong to the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics. Ortho-McNeil, a Raritan, NJ-based unit of Johnson & Johnson, will market Levaquin in both a tablet and intravenous form for common types of pneumonia, bronchitis and sinusitis. The drug was also approved for certain skin and kidney infections and complicated urinary tract infections, according to Monday's edition of The Wall Street Journal. Rhone-Poulenc Rorer will market Zagram for pneumonia and chronic bronchitis. Dr. Thomas File, a professor of internal medicine at Northeastern Ohio Universities medical school who conducted trials on both drugs, said, "Both are very fully absorbed. Both kill the bugs very quickly." In addition, the FDA approved Forest Laboratories' fosfomycin tromethamine (Monurol), a single-dose treatment for women with uncomplicated urinary tract infections. According to The Wall Street Journal, the approvals are part of the FDA's annual December push to meet approval goals for the year. Copyright 1996 Reuters Limited. <http://www.reutershealth.com/news/docs/199612/19961224rga.html> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [log in to unmask]