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The business of developing antibacterials

Nature Biotechnology volume 24, pages 1521–1528 (2006)Cite this article

Although some dazzling technical approaches have fallen short, dozens of small companies and a few major pharmas seek new products for this medically crucial, modest-growth market.

For developers of antibacterial products, this century began very much on the wrong foot. The number of pharmaceutical companies chasing antibiotics continued to drop, few genuinely new antibiotics reached the clinic and investors remained lukewarm toward startups in this sector. But, despite faltering, antibacterial product development efforts now are moving forward at a respectable pace. No one is yet calling this moment the dawn of a renaissance for companies developing antibiotics. Yet, there are signs of renewed energy and progress, much of it emanating from an odd assortment of several dozen biotech companies, many of them in the United States but a number also in Europe and Asia (Tables 1 and 2).

Table 1 Selected publicly listed companies with antibiotic programs
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Table 2 Selected private companies with antibiotic programs
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Figure 1: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Janice Car

Figure 2: Market for systemic antibacterials.
Figure 3: Antibacterial agents approved 1983–2007.

References

  1. Moore, A. The big and small of drug discovery. Biotech versus pharma: advantages and drawbacks in drug development. EMBO Reports 4, 114–117 (2003).

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  2. Mygind, P.H. et al. Plectasin is a peptide antibiotic with therapeutic potential from a saprophytic fungus. Nature 437, 975–980 (2005).

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  1. freelance writer based in Washington, D.C.,

    Jeffrey L Fox

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Fox, J. The business of developing antibacterials. Nat Biotechnol 24, 1521–1528 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1206-1521

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