40 Years of Azithromycin – A Contribution to the Valorisation of the Achievements of Croatian Scientists
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33604/sl.12.23.2Keywords:
antibiotics, azithromycin, organic synthesis, ribosome, Sumamed, technological processAbstract
Azithromycin is a semisynthetic macrolide antibiotic that, after 40 years of success, is still considered a golden standard for a type of antibiotic called azalides. After the 1970s, as the development of a new antibiotic that would have a more powerful effect on gram-negative bacteria than erythromycin A and clarithromycin, be stable in an acid environment, and absorb well was underway, in Croatia a research team of the Zagreb pharmaceutical company PLIVA led by Dr S. Đokić synthesised a new macrolide antibiotic in 1979–81. This article offers an overview of the full contribution of PLIVA’s research team to the discovery and production of azithromycin through their own technological process. In order to better understand the climate in which PLIVA’s scientists worked, one should recall the summaries of their research, based on their contribution to world pharmaceutical heritage through the history of macrolide antibiotic research. An overview of the azithromycin research process is presented through systematic notes. The contribution of Prof. Nenad Ban to the discovery of the way azithromycin binds to ribosomes is highlighted, while a study of his earliest and a collection of his newer writings are used to refer to the anti-inflammatory effect of azithromycin and valorise new data on its use.
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Copyright for papers published in this journal is retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal (this applies to both print and electronic issue). Papers in the journal are licensed under the Creative Commons: Attribution (CC-BY), which permits users to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, as well as to remix, transform and build upon material in educational and other settings, provided that the credit is given to the author and that the original work is properly cited. Complete legal background of license is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. It is the author’s responsibility to obtain permission to reproduce material from other sources. They also bear full responsibility in any cases of copyright infringement.