Mechanism of Action

Moxifloxacin is a member of the fluoroquinolone class of anti-infective drugs (See Microbiology).

Pharmacokinetics

Plasma concentrations of moxifloxacin were measured in healthy adult male and female subjects who received bilateral topical ocular doses of VIGAMOX® solution 3 times a day. The mean steady-state Cmax (2.7 ng/mL) and estimated daily exposure AUC (45 ng·hr/mL) values were 1,600 and 1,000 times lower than the mean Cmax and AUC reported after therapeutic 400 mg doses of moxifloxacin. The plasma half-life of moxifloxacin was estimated to be 13 hours.

Microbiology

The antibacterial action of moxifloxacin results from inhibition of the topoisomerase II (DNA gyrase) and topoisomerase IV. DNA gyrase is an essential enzyme that is involved in the replication, transcription and repair of bacterial DNA. Topoisomerase IV is an enzyme known to play a key role in the partitioning of the chromosomal DNA during bacterial cell division.

The mechanism of action for quinolones, including moxifloxacin, is different from that of macrolides, aminoglycosides, or tetracyclines. Therefore, moxifloxacin may be active against pathogens that are resistant to these antibiotics and these antibiotics may be active against pathogens that are resistant to moxifloxacin. There is no cross-resistance between moxifloxacin and the aforementioned classes of antibiotics. Cross resistance has been observed between systemic moxifloxacin and some other quinolones.

In vitro resistance to moxifloxacin develops via multiple-step mutations. Resistance to moxifloxacin occurs in vitro at a general frequency of between 1.8 x 10^-9 to < 1 x 10^-11 for Gram-positive bacteria.

Moxifloxacin has been shown to be active against most strains of the following microorganisms, both in vitro and in clinical infections as described in the INDICATIONS section:

Aerobic Gram-positive microorganisms

Corynebacterium species*
Micrococcus luteus*
Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus epidermidis
Staphylococcus haemolyticus
Staphylococcus hominis
Staphylococcus warneri*
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Streptococcus viridans group

Aerobic Gram-negative microorganisms

Acinetobacter Iwoffii*
Haemophilus influenzae
Haemophilus parainfluenzae *

Other microorganisms

Chlamydia trachomatis

*Efficacy for this organism was studied in fewer than 10 infections.

The following in vitro data are also available, but their clinical significance in ophthalmic infections is unknown.

The safety and effectiveness of VIGAMOX® solution in treating ophthalmological infections due to these microorganisms have not been established in adequate and well-controlled trials.

The following organisms are considered susceptible when evaluated using systemic breakpoints. However, a correlation between the in vitro systemic breakpoint and ophthalmological efficacy has not been established. The list of organisms is provided as guidance only in assessing the potential treatment of conjunctival infections. Moxifloxacin exhibits in vitro minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 2 µg/ml or less (systemic susceptible breakpoint) against most ( ≥ 90%) strains of the following ocular pathogens.

Aerobic Gram-positive microorganisms

Listeria monocytogenes
Staphylococcus saprophyticus
Streptococcus agalactiae
Streptococcus mitis
Streptococcus pyogenes
Streptococcus Group C, G and F

Aerobic Gram-negative microorganisms

Acinetobacter baumannii
Acinetobacter calcoaceticus
Citrobacter freundii
Citrobacter koseri
Enterobacter aerogenes
Enterobacter cloacae Escherichia coli
Klebsiella oxytoca
Klebsiella pneumoniae
Moraxella catarrhalis
Morganella morganii
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Proteus mirabilis
Proteus vulgaris
Pseudomonas stutzeri

Anaerobic microorganisms

Clostridium perfringens
Fusobacterium species
Prevotella species
Propionibacterium acnes

Other microorganisms

Chlamydia pneumoniae
Legionella pneumophila
Mycobacterium avium
Mycobacterium marinum
Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Clinical Studies

In two randomized, double-masked, multicenter, controlled clinical trials in which patients were dosed 3 times a day for 4 days, VIGAMOX® solution produced clinical cures on day 5-6 in 66% to 69% of patients treated for bacterial conjunctivitis. Microbiological success rates for the eradication of baseline pathogens ranged from 84% to 94%. Please note that microbiologic eradication does not always correlate with clinical outcome in anti-infective trials.

Last reviewed on RxList: 10/24/2011
This monograph has been modified to include the generic and brand name in many instances.