title: How to cope with the quest for new antibiotics.
abstract: Since their introduction in therapy, antibiotics have played an essential role in human society, saving millions of lives, allowing safe surgery, organ transplants, cancer therapy. Antibiotics have also helped to elucidate several biological mechanisms and boosted the birth and growth of pharmaceutical companies, generating profits and royalties. The golden era of antibiotics and the scientific and economical drive of big pharma towards these molecules is long gone, but the need for effective antibiotics is increased as their pipelines dwindle and multi-resistant pathogenic strains spread. Here we outline some strategies that could help meet this emergency and list promising new targets.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genetics, Department of Biosciences and Biotechnology, University of Camerino, Camerino (MC), Italy.
authors.forename: Attilio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fabbretti
authors.forename: Claudio O
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Gualerzi
authors.forename: Letizia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brandi
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents