Novel anti-staphylococcal targets and compounds.

Many antimicrobial drugs have become less effective at combating infectious diseases, and experts in the field are concerned about the possibility of a ‘post-antibiotic era’ for some clinically important pathogens, particularly staphylococci. In our hospitals, nosocomial infections due to vancomycin-resistant enterococci have emerged, and there are concerns that the same resistance pattern may evolve in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Examples from three main areas addressed to prevent this scenario are discussed: (i) screening of isolated biochemical targets and intact bacteria using high-throughput screening technologies, (ii) modifying existing compound classes like quinolones and glycopeptides to create more powerful compounds overcoming pathogen resistance and (iii) introduction of completely new classes of antibiotics.