Levofloxacin hemihydrateProduct ingredient for Levofloxacin

Levofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic and the optical S-(-) isomer of racemic ofloxacin.¹ It reportedly carries 8 to 128-fold more activity against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria compared to R-(+)-ofloxacin¹ and remains stereochemically stable following administration (i.e. it does not invert to the inactive isomer).⁹ Levofloxacin, along with other quinolones such as gatifloxacin and moxifloxacin, is a member of the third generation of fluoroquinolones, colloquially referred to as the "respiratory quinolones" due to improved activity against gram-positive bacteria commonly implicated in respiratory infections.^7,8

Levofloxacin was first approved by the FDA in 1996, and was approved in Canada and several South American countries soon after.¹