Government OKs new intravenous antibiotic

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government approved a new antibiotic Thursday to give hospitals another weapon against tough-to-treat infections.

Tygacil, known chemically as tigecycline, is an intravenous antibiotic, for use in treating complicated abdominal and skin infections in adults.

New antibiotics are urgently needed, as bacteria evolve to resist treatment by today's drugs.

Tygacil is the first in a new class of antibiotics, derived from the older tetracycline family, said Dr. Edward Cox of the Food and Drug Administration.

It is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, meaning it can fight a range of bacteria, including the worrisome germ called methicillin-resistant staph aureus, or MRSA. Once spread mostly in hospitals, this hard-to-treat bacterium now is increasingly spread in the community as well, such as between athletes.