Studies on articular and general toxicity of orally administered ozenoxacin in juvenile rats and dogs

Aim: Ozenoxacin is a nonfluorinated quinolone antibacterial approved for topical treatment of impetigo. Because quinolones have known chondrotoxic effects in juvenile animals, the potential toxicity of ozenoxacin was assessed in preclinical studies. Materials & methods: Ozenoxacin or ofloxacin (300 mg/kg/day for 5 days, for each compound) was orally administered to juvenile rats, and oral ozenoxacin (10–100 mg/kg/day for 14 days) was administered to juvenile dogs. Results: In juvenile rats, ozenoxacin showed no chondrotoxicity, whereas ofloxacin produced typical quinolone-induced lesions in articular cartilage in three of ten rats. Oral ozenoxacin administration to juvenile dogs showed no chondrotoxicity or toxicologically relevant findings in selected target organs. Conclusion: Ozenoxacin was generally well-tolerated in juvenile rats and dogs, with no evidence of quinolone-induced arthropathy.