Antibacterial drug development: challenges, recent developments, and future considerations

• Published in: Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics Vol. 96; no. 2; p. 147
• Main Authors: Nambiar, S, Laessig, K, Toerner, J, Farley, J, Cox, E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.08.2014
• Subjects: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Bacterial Infections - drug therapy; Bacterial Infections - epidemiology; Clinical Trials as Topic - methods; Clinical Trials as Topic - trends; Drug Discovery - methods; Drug Discovery - trends; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial - drug effects; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial - physiology; Forecasting; Humans
• ISSN: 1532-6535
• DOI: 10.1038/clpt.2014.116

A decline in antibacterial drug development coupled with emerging bacterial resistance has resulted in limited treatment options. One of the challenges facing antibacterial drug development is appropriate clinical trial designs. Noninferiority trials are appropriate to study new antibacterial drugs for the treatment of serious diseases; superiority trials can be challenging and cannot be the only acceptable trial design to study antibacterial drugs. Our efforts must continue to make new therapies available to meet patient needs.