Fosfomycin, sold under the brand name Monurol among others, is an antibiotic primarily used to treat lower UTI. It is not indicated for kidney infections. Occasionally it is used for prostate infections. It is generally taken by mouth.Common side effects include diarrhea, nausea, headache, and vaginal yeast infections. Severe side effects may include anaphylaxis and Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea. While use during pregnancy has not been found to be harmful, such use is not recommended. A single dose when breastfeeding appears safe. Fosfomycin works by interfering with the production of the bacterial cell wall.Fosfomycin was discovered in 1969 and approved for medical use in the United States in 1996. It is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. The World Health Organization classifies fosfomycin as critically important for human medicine. It is available as a generic medication. It was originally produced by certain types of Streptomyces, although it is now made chemically. Medical uses
Fosfomycin is used to treat bladder infections, where it is usually given as a single dose by mouth.Oral fosfomycin is not recommended for children under 12 years old.Additional uses have been proposed. The global problem of advancing antimicrobial resistance has led to a renewed interest in its use more recently.Fosfomycin can be used as an efficacious treatment for both UTIs and complicated UTIs including acute pyelonephritis.
Fosfomycin is a PEP analog that inhibits MurA by alkylating an active site cysteine residue (Cys 115 in the Escherichia coli enzyme).Fosfomycin enters the bacterial cell through the glycerophosphate transporter. History
Fosfomycin (originally known as phosphonomycin) was discovered in a joint effort of Merck and Co. and Spains Compañía Española de Penicilina y Antibióticos (CEPA). It was first isolated by screening broth cultures of Streptomyces fradiae isolated from soil samples for the ability to cause formation of spheroplasts by growing bacteria. The discovery was described in a series of papers published in 1969. CEPA began producing fosfomycin on an industrial scale in 1971 at its Aranjuez facility. Manufacture
The complete fosfomycin biosynthetic gene cluster from Streptomyces fradiae has been cloned and sequenced and the heterologous production of fosfomycin in S. lividans has been achieved by Ryan Woodyer of the Huimin Zhao and Wilfred van der Donk research groups.Large scale production of fosfomycin is achieved by making an epoxide of cis-propenylphosphonic acid to yield racemic mixture fosfomycin. References
External links
"Fosfomycin". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.