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Review
. 2021 Oct;5(10):726-749.
doi: 10.1038/s41570-021-00313-1. Epub 2021 Aug 19.

Towards the sustainable discovery and development of new antibiotics

Marcus Miethke  1   2 , Marco Pieroni  3 , Tilmann Weber  4 , Mark Brönstrup  2   5 , Peter Hammann  6 , Ludovic Halby  7 , Paola B Arimondo  7 , Philippe Glaser  8 , Bertrand Aigle  9 , Helge B Bode  10   11 , Rui Moreira  12 , Yanyan Li  13 , Andriy Luzhetskyy  14 , Marnix H Medema  15 , Jean-Luc Pernodet  16 , Marc Stadler  2   17 , José Rubén Tormo  18 , Olga Genilloud  18 , Andrew W Truman  19 , Kira J Weissman  20 , Eriko Takano  21 , Stefano Sabatini  22 , Evi Stegmann  2   23 , Heike Brötz-Oesterhelt  2   23 , Wolfgang Wohlleben  2   24 , Myriam Seemann  25 , Martin Empting  1   2 , Anna K H Hirsch  1   2 , Brigitta Loretz  1 , Claus-Michael Lehr  1 , Alexander Titz  1   2 , Jennifer Herrmann  1   2 , Timo Jaeger  2 , Silke Alt  2 , Thomas Hesterkamp  2 , Mathias Winterhalter  26 , Andrea Schiefer  2   27 , Kenneth Pfarr  2   27 , Achim Hoerauf  2   27 , Heather Graz  28 , Michael Graz  29 , Mika Lindvall  30 , Savithri Ramurthy  31 , Anders Karlén  32 , Maarten van Dongen  33 , Hrvoje Petkovic  34 , Andreas Keller  35 , Frédéric Peyrane  36 , Stefano Donadio  37 , Laurent Fraisse  38 , Laura J V Piddock  39 , Ian H Gilbert  40 , Heinz E Moser  41 , Rolf Müller  42   43
Affiliations
Review

Towards the sustainable discovery and development of new antibiotics

Marcus Miethke et al. Nat Rev Chem. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

An ever-increasing demand for novel antimicrobials to treat life-threatening infections caused by the global spread of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens stands in stark contrast to the current level of investment in their development, particularly in the fields of natural-product-derived and synthetic small molecules. New agents displaying innovative chemistry and modes of action are desperately needed worldwide to tackle the public health menace posed by antimicrobial resistance. Here, our consortium presents a strategic blueprint to substantially improve our ability to discover and develop new antibiotics. We propose both short-term and long-term solutions to overcome the most urgent limitations in the various sectors of research and funding, aiming to bridge the gap between academic, industrial and political stakeholders, and to unite interdisciplinary expertise in order to efficiently fuel the translational pipeline for the benefit of future generations.

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