Reproductive and teratological studies with a new aminoglycoside: netilmicin (Sch 20569)

Reproductive and teratological studies were undertaken with netilmicin (Sch 20569), a new semisynthetic aminolgycoside antibiotic structurally related to sisomicin. The administration of 32 and 80 mg/kg/day, by the intramuscular route, in the rat prior to and during pregnancy and lactation did not affect the fertility of animals, the resorptions rate and the vitality of the litters until the second generation. Also in the rabbit, the dose of 32 mg/kg/day by intramuscular route during pregnancy did not cause any embryotoxic effect. No gross malformations were observed in both species. The minor skeletal malformation, described as "wavy ribs", was observed at a significant level only in the rat foetuses generated by dams treated with a dose as high as 80 mg/kg/day by the intramuscular route.