Fosmidomycin

General information

Fosmidomycin is an antimicrobial drug that acts by inhibiting 1-deoxy- d -xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase, a key enzyme of the non-mevalonate pathway of isoprenoid biosynthesis. It inhibits the synthesis of isoprenoids by Plasmodium falciparum and suppresses the growth of multidrug-resistant strains in vitro [ ].

In an open, uncontrolled study, fosmidomycin was administered for 3–5 days (1.2 g every 8 hours) to 27 adults with malaria, of whom 16 reported possibly drug-related adverse events [ ]. The most frequent adverse events were headache, weakness, myalgia, abdominal pain, and loose stools. There were two cases of raised alanine aminotransferase activity.

Drug studies