title: Process of developing a new antimicrobial drug.
abstract: The network for development of a new antimicrobial drug, from discovery of the compound to submission of the New Drug Application, is reviewed. The key problems encountered during this process, as elucidated through a survey of 62 American pharmaceutical companies, include difficulties in discovering new and significant antimicrobial drugs, the unpredictability of in-vitro and animal studies, lack of specific criteria for the bacteriologic response to therapy, difficulties in setting up well-controlled clinical studies, and difficulty with the timely enrollment of suitable patients with precise microbiologic diagnosis before treatment.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D004345:Drug Industry; D006801:Humans; D012106:Research; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents