flumequine

Flumequine is a synthetic fluoroquinolone antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections. It is a first-generation fluoroquinolone antibacterial that has been removed from clinical use and is no longer being marketed. The marketing authorization of flumequine has been suspended throughout the EU. It kills bacteria by interfering with the enzymes that cause DNA to unwind and duplicate. Flumequine was used in veterinarian medicine for the treatment of enteric infections (all infections of the intestinal tract), as well as to treat cattle, swine, chickens, and fish, but only in a limited number of countries. It was occasionally used in France (and a few other European Countries) to treat urinary tract infections under the trade name Apurone. However this was a limited indication because only minimal serum levels were achieved.

==History== The first quinolone used was nalidixic acid (was marketed in many countries as Negram) followed by the fluoroquinolone flumequine. The first-generation fluoroquinolone agents, such as flumequine, had poor distribution into the body tissues and limited activity. As such they were used mainly for treatment of urinary tract infections. Flumequine (benzo quinolizine) was first patented in 1973, (German Patent) by Rikker Labs. Flumequine is a known antimicrobial compound described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,131 (Example 3), July 22, 1975. Flumequine is the first quinolone compound with a fluorine atom at the C6-position of the related quinolone basic molecular structure. Even though this was the first fluoroquinolone, it is often overlooked when classifying the drugs within this class by generations and excluded from such a list.