The Process of Antibiotic Development

Antibiotic development involves the research and creation of new antimicrobial compounds to combat bacterial infections and diseases.
Related products/activities
Application
Pharmacology | Drug Discovery | Infectious Diseases | Antimicrobial Drugs | Antibiotic Resistance | Drug Efficacy
Prepared by Shruti Sahoo, reviewed by Dr. Eugene Smith

Antibiotic Development FAQ


Image credit: onehealthtrust.org

Why is antibiotic research and development important?

The stimulation of antibiotic research and development has a pivotal role in the development of strategies to address the global threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Why are antibiotic development projects a problem?

As mentioned above, the key problems are economic. Companies are making so much money from the sales of other drug classes, including immuno-oncology therapeutics, that antibiotic development projects compare poorly when management allocates capital.

How long does it take to develop a new antibiotic?

Barriers to development of new products include the lengthy pathway to approval, high cost and low success rates. It currently takes approximately 10–15 years to progress an antibiotic candidate from the preclinical to the clinical stages.

Why is antibiotic development a problem?

The second is that antibiotic discovery and development are no longer cost-effective using traditional reimbursement models. Consequently, there are a dwindling number of companies and laboratories dedicated to delivering new antibiotics, resulting in an anemic pipeline that threatens our control of infections.

How many antibiotics are in clinical development?

Although 42 antibiotics are under clinical development, only 11 of these have the potential to treat pathogens on the WHO’s critical threat list 10. Support is needed to ensure studies can be conducted for not just regulatory trials but also public health and postregulatory trials to best understand how to use new antibiotics.

Antibiotic Development References

If you want to know more about Antibiotic Development, consider exploring links below:

Explore Related Topics

Are there new antibiotics in development to combat resistant infections?

Explore the landscape of new antibiotics in development to address the challenge of resistant infections. Share any advancements or research in the field of novel antibiotics for combating antibiotic resistance.