Sarecycline Review

Abstract

Objective: Sarecycline is a new oral tetracycline antibiotic recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The aim of this article was to evaluate the data from published clinical trials of sarecycline in the treatment of acne, review the drug's pharmacology, and understand how this new medication may apply to clinical practice. Data Sources: A systematic literature review was performed using the terms sarecycline (Seysara), P005672, and WC-3035 in the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. ClinicalTrials.gov was searched to identify ongoing or nonpublished studies. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Articles in English between January 2000 and April 2019 relating to clinical trials, pharmacology, safety, and microbiological profile were evaluated. Data Synthesis: In a phase 3 clinical trial (SC1401), absolute change from baseline in facial inflammatory lesion count at week 12 was -15.3 for the sarecycline arm and -10.1 for placebo (P < 0.01). In another phase 3 clinical trial (SC1402), the absolute change in this category was -15.7 for sarecycline and -10.7 for placebo (P < 0.01). Mean percentage change in facial inflammatory lesion count was higher in the sarecycline group than in the placebo group in both studies (P < 0.01). Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical Practice: The 1.5-mg/kg sarecycline dose has efficacy in reducing inflammatory lesions, is well tolerated, and has more targeted antimicrobial activity, which may help reduce the risk of developing antibiotic resistance. Conclusions: This novel, once-daily treatment may represent a useful treatment for patients with moderate to severe acne.

Keywords: acne; adverse drug reactions; antibiotic; antibiotic resistance; microbiological profile; pregnancy/drug effects; tetracyclines.