Overview of Anti-Infective Drug Development

The identification and clinical development of an antibiotic as a new chemical entity (NCE) can take up to a decade to complete. The goal of this effort is to identify agents that inhibit and/or kill pathogenic bacteria. Outlined in this unit is a series of key “strategic protocols” utilized for drug development in this area. Included are the identification of the target and the hit/lead, as well as lead optimization for identifying a clinical candidate. The clinical development of a new antimicrobial agent can take 5 to 7 years to complete, depending on the clinical plan. This unit is designed to provide an overview of key aspects of antibacterial drug development and provide an introduction for subsequent units in this chapter that provide more detailed protocols for identifying and testing antimicrobial drugs. Keywords: antibacterials; antibiotics; drug discovery; hit; lead; candidate; antibacterial drug discovery; antimicrobial spectrum; bacterial genomics