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Antibiotics au naturel

Nature Biotechnology volume 24, pages 1494–1496 (2006)Cite this article

Where combinatorial chemistry and genomics have stalled, could an exploration of untapped sources usher in a second golden age of antibiotic discovery? Cormac Sheridan investigates.

Technologies for accessing and screening new sources of badly needed and novel antibiotics have improved dramatically during the past decade. Combine these with a growing appreciation of the extraordinary richness of the world's biodiverse resources—particularly those of the bacterial variety—and the stage is set for a new era of antibiotics discovery from natural products. The only problem is that it is by no means apparent who the main players will be (Box 1, Table 1).

Table 1 Selected companies developing antibiotics from natural products
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    Cormac Sheridan

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  1. Cormac Sheridan
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https://doi.org/10.1038/News@Nature443,904-905(26Oct2006)

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Sheridan, C. Antibiotics au naturel. Nat Biotechnol 24, 1494–1496 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1206-1494

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