246
Views
9
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Review

Emerging drugs for treating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

, , & ORCID Icon
Pages 191-204 | Received 28 Jun 2019, Accepted 03 Oct 2019, Published online: 17 Oct 2019
 

ABSTRACT

Introduction: In clinical practice, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) represents a major threat and has been associated with high rates of inadequate antibiotic treatment and significant increases in morbidity, mortality, and overall healthcare costs. The association between the prescription of an inappropriate or delayed antibiotic and impaired clinical outcomes has been widely described.

Areas covered: To address the threat of MRSA, many new therapeutic options with a peculiar activity against MRSA have been recently developed and approved. New agents are characterized by specific issues in terms of spectrum of activity, pharmacokinetics, risk of drug-drug interactions, and toxicity, with potential advantages that should be considered in everyday clinical practice.

Expert opinion: The most attractive characteristic of new drugs is represented by the broad spectrum of activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens; moreover, new compounds in most cases are characterized by favorable toxicity profiles compared with old drugs currently used in clinical practice. Some of the new antimicrobials will be also available as oral formulations, with the potential for oral switch, even in infections due to resistant pathogens. In particular conditions/populations (e.g. liver failure, renal disease, pregnancy, diabetic, children, and elderly), novel antibiotics with reduced toxicity could be an important option, including after hospital discharge.

Article highlights

  • MRSA has been associated with high rates of inadequate antibiotic treatment .

  • Many new therapeutic options with a peculiar activity against MRSA have been recently developed and approved.

  • New agents are characterized by specific issues with potential advantages in everyday clinical practice.

  • New compounds in most cases are characterized by favorable toxicity profiles compared with old drugs .

  • In particular conditions/populations novel antibiotics could be an important option.

Declaration of interest

M Bassetti has participated in advisory boards and/or received speaker honoraria from Achaogen, Angelini, Astellas, Bayer, Basilea, Biomerieux, Cidara, Gilead, Menarini, MSD, Nabriva, Paratek, Pfizer, Roche, Melinta, Shionogi, Tetraphase, VenatoRx and Vifor, and has received study grants from Angelini, Basilea, Astellas, Shionogi, Cidara, Melinta, Gilead, Pfizer, and MSD. M Wilcox has received the following: consulting fees from AiCuris, Astra-Zeneca, Bayer, Cerexa, Durata, The Medicines Company, Menarini, Motif Biosciences, Nabriva, Paratek, Pfizer, and Tetraphase; lecture fees from Allergan, Astra-Zeneca, and Pfizer; and grant support from Motif Biosciences, Nabriva, Paratek, and Pfizer. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.