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Availability of Cefixime 400 mg Tablets --- United States, April 2008
The only current CDC-recommended options for treating
Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections are from a single class
of antibiotics, the cephalosporins. Within this class, ceftriaxone, available only as an injection, is the
recommended treatment for all types of gonorrhea infections (i.e., urogenital, rectal, and pharyngeal). The only oral
agent recommended currently by CDC for treatment of uncomplicated urogenital or rectal gonorrhea is a single dose
of cefixime 400 mg (1). Availability of cefixime had been limited since July 2002, when Wyeth
Pharmaceuticals (Collegeville, Pennsylvania) discontinued manufacturing cefixime tablets in the United States
(2). Beginning in April 2008, cefixime
(Suprax®) 400 mg tablets are again available in the United States.
Oral cefixime is now being provided by Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Baltimore, Maryland), which received Food
and Drug Administration approval in February 2004 to manufacture and market cefixime. Lupin has been
manufacturing and marketing cefixime oral suspension (100
mg/5 mL) since February 2004 and cefixime oral suspension (200 mg/5
mL) since April 2007. Public health pricing* will be available for the 400 mg cefixime tablets.
Information on obtaining cefixime is available from
Lupin by telephone (866-587-4617). Guidance on treatment
of N. gonorrhoeae infections and updates on the availability of recommended antimicrobials are available from CDC
at http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment.
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