THE past half century has witnessed the discovery and subsequent development of a remarkable number of antibiotics. However. despite the fact that dozens of these drugs are available for clinical use. the search for new antibiotics ■ continues. There are several reasons for, this. Notable among them are:

a. Absence of an ideal or optimal antibacterial agent and

b. development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics

The question then arises as to what are the characteristics

of an ideal or optimal antibiotic. Ideally an antibiotic should have the following characteristics: i. high activity against a broad variety of organisms ii. selective toxicity for microbes ill. should not induce resistance iv. minimal, if any. side effects v. availability in oral and parenteral forms vi. requires infrequent dosing fence a day or even less) vii. shorter length or duration of therapy.

Development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics

(antimicrobial agents) often results on account of incomplete total course of antibiotic treatment. This happens largely because the patients become asymptomatic within 3 to 4 days of antibiotic therapy in most situations although bacterial eradication may not have occurred. Obviously the urge to medication diminishes and very often they forget or decline to continue the re

■ maining cqurse of 5’ to 7 days therapy leading to selection of resistant strains

An antibiotic therapy which does not require to be continued after the disappearance of symptoms without any risk of resistance development would therefore be the most preferred or ideal one.

In the quest for such an antibiotic. AZITHROMYCIN, the first member of a new class of antimicrobial agents called the azalldes" is developed by a European pharmaceutical company (Paiva Yugoslavia)

Azithromycin has brought in

a new concept of tissue directed short course therapy which is distinctively different from conventional antibl-otics/antlbacterials and offers multiple benefits over them.

Azithromycin ensures a tar g?ted drug delivery with minimal once dally dose and shorter duration (only 3 days) of therapy and this ensures unparallel patient compliance

In suggested therapeutic dosage Azithromycin (3 day once dally) shows very high clinics) success rates in the

treatment of various bacterial infections.

The therapy Is safe and well tolerated to both paediatric and adult patients.

All these positive features make Azithrocin an Ideal drug In the treatment of various respiratory tract Infections (both upper and lower), skin A soft tissue InfecUons. sexually transmitted diseases etc

In Bangladesh Bexlmco Pharmaceuticals Ltd Is Intro-duclng this revolutlonsry antibiotic with the brand name

AZITHROCIN (as 25Omg Capsule).