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Review
. 2020 Aug 13:13:553-560.
doi: 10.2147/CCID.S190473. eCollection 2020.

Sarecycline: A Review of Preclinical and Clinical Evidence

Angela Yen Moore  1   2 , James Del Rosso  3   4 , Jodi L Johnson  5 , Ayman Grada  6   7
Affiliations
Review

Sarecycline: A Review of Preclinical and Clinical Evidence

Angela Yen Moore et al. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. .

Abstract

Sarecycline is a tetracycline-derived oral antibiotic, specifically designed for acne, and is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2018 for the treatment of inflammatory lesions of non-nodular moderate to severe acne vulgaris (AV) in patients 9 years of age and older. It has been decades since a novel systemic antibiotic was approved to treat AV, a disease that affects up to 90% of teenagers and young adults worldwide and lasts well into adulthood. Sarecycline holds promise to yield fewer side effects than other commonly used broad-spectrum tetracyclines, including minocycline and doxycycline. The narrower spectrum of antibacterial activity of sarecycline, which specifically targets C. acnes and some Gram-positive bacteria with little or no activity against Gram-negative bacteria, suggests not only the potential for reduced emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains but also less disruption of the human gut microflora. Here, we review the key preclinical and clinical evidence on sarecycline.

Keywords: acne vulgaris; antibiotic; narrow spectrum; sarecycline; tetracycline.

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Conflict of interest statement

JLJ is an employee of DerMEDit and reports personal fees from Almirall, during the conduct of the study. AYM receives funds as consultant (C), clinical study investigator (I), and speaker (SP) from Almirall (C,I,SP), Foamix (I,SP), Galderma (I), Mayne Pharma (C,I), and Naked Biome (I). JDR has served as a consultant, researcher and speaker for Almirall and Bausch Health and as a consultant and speaker for Mayne Pharma and EPI Health. AG is serving as the Director of R&D and Medical Affairs at Almirall (US). The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

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