New anti-Mycobacterium agents: recent advances in patent literature

Abstract

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the greatest single infectious cause of mortality worldwide. In addition, disseminated infection with Mycobacterium avium complex (dMAC) is an increasingly frequent complication in advanced HIV infection. Among the different classes of anti-Mycobacterium compounds studied in the recent years, those of oxazolidinones and imidazole derivatives seem the most likely to provide new useful drugs for the clinical treatment of Mycobacterium infections in the future. Although the most important improvement in the therapy of tuberculosis infections will be obtained using antisense oligonucleotides and vaccines, the research of new ‘conventional’ antituberculous drugs will also remain an important challenge.

• antituberculous drugs
• Mycobacterium avium
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis