Keeping it simple: lessons from the golden era of antibiotic discovery

Abstract

Bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to currently used antibiotics. At the same time, little progress has been made in discovering new antibacterial drugs to combat resistant organisms. History teaches us that 'high tech' target-based complex methods are not synonymous with success and a return to simple, systematic screening of natural products against bacteria from traditional and novel resources holds our greatest hope of success.

Keywords: antibacterial; antibiotic; drug discovery; history; natural products; screening.