30 years development of antibiotics
Wiedemann, B.
Arzneimittel-Forschung 47(10): 1165-1171
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0004-4172 PMID: 9454559 Document Number: 471073
Many new antibiotics with improved pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties have been developed in the last 30 years. This development, however, went down in the last five years. With modern techniques of sequencing of the complete bacterial genum in order to find new targest, with combinatory chemistry and with the high throughput screening about one new drug per year can be developed in the future. The activity of antibiotics is diminished by the increasing number of resistant strains and by the increase of infections with naturally resistant microorganisms. The rational use of antibiotics can slow down this trend and perhaps reverse it. To reach this aim it is necessary to increase research activities in the field of pharmacodynamics in order to allow a more rational dosing. Better technology documentation and statistics in microbiological diagnostics could improve calculated chemotherapy. Furthermore we need more information about the epidemiology of resistant bacteria, at least the knowledge about receptors, mechanism of action and mechanism of resistance should be known to circumvent these obstacles in antimicrobial chemotherapy.