Something old, something new: revisiting natural products in antibiotic drug discovery

• Published in: Canadian journal of microbiology Vol. 60; no. 3; pp. 147 - 154
• Main Author: Wright, Gerard D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Canada NRC Research Press 01.03.2014; Canadian Science Publishing NRC Research Press
• Subjects: Actinomycetes; Analytical chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Bacteria - drug effects; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - growth & development; Biofilms - drug effects; Bioinformatics; Biological Evolution; Biological Products - chemistry; Biological Products - pharmacology; Biological Products - therapeutic use; Dosage and administration; Drug Discovery - trends; Drug Industry - trends; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial - drug effects; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial - genetics; Drug Therapy, Combination; Health aspects; Humans; Legislation, Drug; Microbiological research; Natural products; Pharmaceutical industry; Pharmaceutical research; Pharmacokinetics; R&D; Research & development; United States; Virulence Factors - antagonists & inhibitors; United States; Canada
• ISSN: 0008-4166; 1480-3275; 1480-3275
• DOI: 10.1139/cjm-2014-0063

Antibiotic discovery is in crisis. Despite a growing need for new drugs resulting from the increasing number of multi-antibiotic-resistant pathogens, there have been only a handful of new antibiotics approved for clinical use in the past 2 decades. Faced with scientific, economic, and regulatory challenges, the pharmaceutical sector seems unable to respond to what has been called an “apocalyptic” threat. Natural products produced by bacteria and fungi are genetically encoded products of natural selection that have been the mainstay sources of the antibiotics in current clinical use. The pharmaceutical industry has largely abandoned these compounds in favor of large libraries of synthetic molecules because of difficulties in identifying new natural product antibiotics scaffolds. Advances in next-generation genome sequencing, bioinformatics, and analytical chemistry are combining to overcome barriers to natural products. Coupled with new strategies in antibiotic discovery, including inhibition of resistance, novel drug combinations, and new targets, natural products are poised for a renaissance to address what is a pressing health care crisis.