Advances in the Discovery of Novel Antibacterial Agents During the Year 2002

The development of bacterial resistance is a significant problem in the treatment of infection, and the importance of research directed toward the discovery of novel agents to treat infections cannot be underestimated. In the past, discovery programs have focused on modification of natural products or existing classes of marketed antibacterial agents. A significant period of time lapsed between the introduction of the nalidixic acid-based quinolones and the next novel antibacterial agent (Zyvox™). However, the advent of the “genomics era” has provided a wealth of new targets that afford the opportunity to discover novel antibacterial agents. This review reports on the state of antibacterial research directed toward the development of novel antibacterial agents with novel mechanisms of action for the calendar year, 2002. While variations on existing drug classes continue to appear, we have chosen to limit our discussion to novel classes of antibacterial agents which have not yet been marketed.