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Cloxacillin is an antibiotic useful for the treatment of several bacterial infections.
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Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. It is not commercially available in the United States.
Mechanism of action
It is semisynthetic and in the same class as penicillin. Cloxacillin is used against staphylococci that produce beta-lactamase, due to its large R chain, which does not allow the beta-lactamases to bind. This drug has a weaker antibacterial activity than benzylpenicillin, and is devoid of serious toxicity except for allergic reactions.
Society and culture
Cloxacillin was discovered and developed by Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline).
It is sold under a number of trade names, including Cloxapen, Cloxacap, Tegopen and Orbenin.
See also
- Dicloxacillin
- Flucloxacillin
- Nafcillin
- Oxacillin