The invention relates to macrolide compounds of formula (I), the use of said compounds as medicaments, in particular for the treatment or prevention of inflammatory and allergic diseases, pharmaceutical compositions containing said compounds and to processes for their preparation. The invention relates in particular to macrolide compounds with antiinflammatory activity mediated primarily through inhibition of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) which makes them useful for the treatment and/or prevention of inflammatory and allergic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, atopic dermatitis or inflammatory bowel disease or proliferative diseases such as cancer.
