The race for antimicrobials in the multidrug resistance era

The appearance of multidrug-resistant pathogens is a major threat to human health with the reemergence of fatal and untreatable diseases. In addition to a rational use of the well-known and available antibiotics, two complementary ways to overcome this public health issue are (i) the discovery of new antimicrobials and (ii) the chemical modification of pre-existing potent antibiotics. In this article, we highlight some of the strategies to generate new and promising antimicrobials for use in the management of these so-called 'superbugs'.