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New antimicrobial agents for Gram-positive infections
1Departments of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Department of Clinical Pathology, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan 48073, USA.
Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases
|October 13, 2006
Summary
Antimicrobial resistance in Gram-positive bacteria is a growing concern. New drug classes are in development to combat resistant infections like vancomycin-resistant enterococci and Staphylococcus aureus.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Pharmacology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Rising antimicrobial resistance in Gram-positive bacteria poses significant treatment challenges.
- Vancomycin resistance in enterococci is associated with high mortality rates (approx. 40%).
- Widespread vancomycin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus would have a more severe impact due to its virulence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review advances in developing new antimicrobial agents against multiply resistant Gram-positive bacteria.
- To highlight the emergence of novel antimicrobial classes.
Main Methods:
- Review of pharmacological developments since the late 1980s.
- Analysis of antimicrobial classes targeting resistant Gram-positive organisms.
Main Results:
- Several new antimicrobial classes with activity against resistant Gram-positive bacteria are under development.
- At least seven new classes are in various stages of development.
- A unique class of antimicrobial agent has emerged alongside semisynthetic derivatives.
Conclusions:
- Ongoing research is yielding new therapeutic options for multidrug-resistant Gram-positive infections.
- The development pipeline includes both modifications of existing antibiotics and novel agents.
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