GENERIC NAME: ampicillin

BRAND NAME: Omnipen, Polycillin, Principen

DRUG CLASS AND MECHANISM: Ampicillin belongs to a class of antibiotics called penicillins that are used for treating bacterial infections. Other members of this class include amoxicillin (Amoxil), piperacillin (Pipracil), ticarcillin (Ticar) and several others. These antibiotics all have a similar mechanism of action. They stop bacteria from multiplying by preventing bacteria from forming the walls that surround them. The walls are necessary to protect bacteria from their environment and to keep the contents of the bacterial cell together. Bacteria cannot survive without a cell wall. Penicillins are most effective when bacteria are actively multiplying and forming cell walls. Ampicillin is effective against many bacteria including H. influenzae, N. gonorrhoea, E. coli, Salmonella, and Shigella, streptococci and certain strains of staphylococci. Ampicillin was approved by the FDA in 1963.

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