Bactrim

What Is Bactrim?

Bactrim^® (sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim) is a prescription antibiotic approved to treat a variety of different infections. In addition to treating infections, it is also approved to prevent one particular infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, in people with a weakened immune system.

 

 

Who Makes It?

Brand-name Bactrim is manufactured by Mutual Pharmaceutical Company, Inc. and is marketed and distributed by AR Scientific. Generic versions are made by various different manufacturers.

 

How Does It Work?

Bactrim contains two different antibiotics, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim. Sulfamethoxazole belongs to a group of drugs known as sulfonamides ("sulfa" drugs). Trimethoprim does not belong to a specific class of medications. These two antibiotics work in different but similar ways. Essentially, both sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim work by inhibiting the production of folic acid in bacteria, although they work in different stages of folic acid production. Folic acid is important for making proteins and DNA. Because humans obtain folic acid from the diet (and bacteria cannot), human cells are less affected by Bactrim.

 

Combining sulfamethoxazole with trimethoprim increases the effectiveness and decreases the chance of antibiotic resistance (when bacteria develop the ability to resist antibiotics).