The fallacies of hope: will we discover new antibiotics to combat pathogenic bacteria in time?
While newly developed technologies have revolutionized the classical approaches to combating infectious diseases, the difficulties associated with developing novel antimicrobials mean that these technologies have not yet been used to introduce new compounds into the market. The new technologies, including genomics and structural biology, open up exciting possibilities for the discovery of antibiotics. However, a substantial effort to pursue research, and moreover to incorporate the results into the production chain, is required in order to bring new antimicrobials to the final user. In the current scenario of emerging diseases and the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance, an active policy to support these requirements is vital. Otherwise, many valuable programmes may never be fully developed for lack of "interest" and funds (private and public). Will we react in time to avoid potential disaster?
Vicente
Miguel
M
Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Campus de Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain. mvicente@cnb.uam.es
Hodgson
John
J
Massidda
Orietta
O
Tonjum
Tone
T
Henriques-Normark
Birgitta
B
Ron
Eliora Z
EZ
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000191:economics / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D004339:Drug Compounding; D015195:Drug Design; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D023281:Genomics; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000187:drug effects; D014774:Virulence / Q000187:drug effects
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012333:RNA, Messenger