Current Technology in the Discovery and Development of Novel Antibacterials

BACKGROUND: Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is one of the most serious challenge to global public health. The introduction of new antibiotics in clinical settings, i.e. agents that belong to a new class of antibacterials, act on new targets or has a novel mechanisms of action, may not be sufficient to cope with the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Escherichia coli, which are increasingly prevalent in healthcare settings in Europe, the USA and Asia. Hence, coordinated efforts in minimizing the risk of spread of resistant bacteria and renewing research efforts in the search for novel antibacterial agents are urgently needed to manage this global crisis.

OBJECTIVE: This review highlights the challenges and potential in using current technologies in the discovery and development of novel antibacterial agents to keep up with the constantly evolving resistance in bacteria.

CONCLUSION: With the explosion of bacterial genomic data and rapid development of new sequencing technologies, the understanding of bacterial pathogenesis and identification of novel antibiotic targets have significantly improved.