Treatment of Urinary Tract Infections with Gepotidacin: The Promising Antibiotic

It is always a daunting task to treat urinary tract infection (UTI) as these infections may be chronic or lead to complications and drug resistance. The bacteria form a biofilm, which results in the failure of the antibiotics. The common organisms include Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, and Enterococcus. Gepotidacin is considered to be the first-in-class oral triazaacenaphthylene bacterial topoisomerase inhibitor (NBTI). Recently, it was approved by the FDA for treating uncomplicated urinary tract infections in females aged 12 years and older. This literature review aims to evaluate current evidence on the clinical efficacy, safety, dosing, and resistance profile of gepotidacin in the treatment of urinary tract infections.

A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and Scopus to identify original and review articles published from 1990 to the present. The search was refined using the keywords: Gepotidacin, drug, DNA gyrase inhibitor, antibiotic, broad spectrum, and UTI.

In this mini-review, we discuss the recently approved drug gepotidacin and highlight its action in UTIs. The drug acts on the enzyme targets such as DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV, thereby inhibiting the DNA replication of bacteria. Interestingly, the drug acts on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

The efficacy of gepotidacin against common uropathogens makes it a popular choice for treating urinary tract and urogonorrheal infections. The drug is well-tolerated with fewer side effects and is hence considered to be safe.

Considering the cases of antibiotic resistance and novel mechanisms of action, the broad-spectrum action of gepotidacin may be beneficial in treating UTIs.