Review finds antibiotic development increased, but insufficient

If people don't stop overusing them, any antibiotic developed is likely to follow the same path of developing resistance as the current ones.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-02/idso-rfa020619.php

Public Release: 6-Feb-2019
Infectious Diseases Society of America

While the pipeline of new antibiotics has improved over the past six years, momentum in the development of new infection-fighting agents remains inadequate and could take a significant downturn without new incentives, a report released in Clinical Infectious Diseases shows.

The report, an update of progress toward the Infectious Diseases Society of America's 10 x '20 initiative to see FDA approval of 10 new systemic antibacterial agents by 2020, follows a 2013 report on the status of the antibacterial drug pipeline.

While the numbers of antibiotics annually approved for marketing in the US has increased following a decline in the previous decade, the authors found, the most recently approved drugs represent modifications to existing classes, rather than innovative approaches. With some momentum propelled by antibiotic incentives enacted in the last few years as well as by increased funding for NIAID and BARDA, the report finds that unmet needs persist, with far too few treatment options available for multidrug resistant infections. At the same time, while larger pharmaceutical companies continue to leave the field, the small companies that are responsible for most of the antibiotic innovation are struggling to stay in business, the authors note.

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