Antimicrobial activities of ozenoxacin against isolates of propionibacteria and staphylococci from Japanese patients with acne vulgaris.

Ozenoxacin, a novel non-fluorinated topical quinolone, was assessed for in vitro antimicrobial activity against clinical isolates of propionibacteria and staphylococci according to the broth microdilution method recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. The isolates used in this study were collected from Japanese patients with acne vulgaris during a period from 2012 to 2013. The MIC90s of ozenoxacin against Propionibacterium acnes (n=266), Propionibacterium granulosum (n=10), Staphylococcus aureus (n=23), Staphylococcus epidermidis (n=229) and other coagulase-negative staphylococci (n=82) were ≤0.06, ≤0.06, ≤0.06, 0.125 and ≤0.06 µg ml-1, respectively. The antimicrobial activity of ozenoxacin against the clinical isolates of propionibacteria and staphylococci was greater than that of five reference antimicrobial agents which have been used for the treatment of acne vulgaris. The MICs of ozenoxacin were correlated with those of nadifloxacin in P. acnes and S. epidermidis isolates. However, the MICs of ozenoxacin were 0.25-0.5 µg ml-1 and 0.5-8 µg ml-1 against nadifloxacin-resistant P. acnes (MIC: ≥8 µg ml-1; n=8) and S. epidermidis (MIC: ≥64 µg ml-1; n=10), respectively. These results indicated the potent antimicrobial activity against P. acnes and S. epidermidis isolates resistant to nadifloxacin. Topical ozenoxacin could represent an alternative therapeutic drug for acne vulgaris based on its potent antimicrobial activity against the isolates of propionibacteria and staphylococci from acne patients.