title: Investigational new treatments for Clostridium difficile infection.
abstract: Significant progress has been made by industry and academia in the past two years to address the medical threats posed by Clostridium difficile infection. These developments provide an excellent example of how patient need has driven a surge of innovation in drug discovery. Indeed, only two drugs were approved for the infection in the past 30 years but there are 13 treatment candidates in clinical trials today. What makes the latter number even more remarkable is the diversity in the strategies represented (antibiotics, microbiota supplements, vaccines, antibiotic quenchers and passive immunization). In this review, we provide a snapshot of the current stage of these breakthroughs and argue that there is still room for further innovation in treating C. difficile infection.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5/10, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Mattias E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ivarsson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5/10, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jean-Christophe
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Leroux
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, 3655 Promenade Sir-William-Osler, H3G1Y6 Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: bastien.castagner@mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Bastien
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Castagner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D055808:Drug Discovery; D015507:Drugs, Investigational / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D015507:Drugs, Investigational