Surveillance of JNJ-Q2 activity tested against Staphylococcus aureus and beta-hemolytic streptococci as a component of the 2010 SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program.

JNJ-Q2 is a novel broad-spectrum bactericidal fluorinated 4-quinolone with potent activity against Gram-positive and -negative pathogens with a balanced potency against both DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV targets. JNJ-Q2 is in clinical development for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin-structure infections (ABSSSIs) and community-acquired bacterial pneumonia. With the use of reference broth microdilution methods in a central reference laboratory design, MIC values were obtained for 3650 pathogens (44.4% were from patients diagnosed with ABSSSI) obtained during the 2010 SENTRY antimicrobial surveillance program. Isolates were collected from patients in 96 medical centers in 26 countries in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. JNJ-Q2 demonstrated good activity overall (MIC(50/90), 0.015/0.5 μg/mL) and against 3081 Staphylococcus aureus with >95% of the isolates inhibited at a MIC of ≤0.5 μg/mL; against 1410 levofloxacin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates, >90% were inhibited by MIC ≤0.5 μg/mL. All isolates were inhibited at a MIC of ≤2 μg/mL. In addition, JNJ-Q2 demonstrated excellent activity (MIC(90), 0.015 μg/mL) against 569 isolates of beta-hemolytic streptococci (including 278 Streptococcus pyogenes and 161 Streptococcus agalactiae). JNJ-Q2 was the most potent fluoroquinolone tested overall and against all pathogens when compared directly to moxifloxacin, levofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin.