The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has advised National Health Service (NHS) boards and area drug and therapeutic committees (ADTCs) that Tygacil (tigecycline) is accepted for restricted use within NHS Scotland by local microbiologists or specialists in infectious disease, for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infection.
The antibiotic, which recently received European Commission approval but is not yet available in the UK, is restricted to second-line use under the advice of local microbiologists or specialists in infectious disease.
Tygacil is the first antibiotic in a new class called glycylcyclines approved in Europe. It has shown in vitro activity against many gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including multi-drug resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE).
Tygacil received approval from the US FDA in June 2005, and has since been approved in various South American countries, as well as Kuwait, Qatar, and the Philippines.