A tour of recent patent applications addressing antibacterial resistance

Abstract

Despite the large number of antibacterial agents on the market today, the continual development of multi-drug resistance creates an ongoing demand for novel antibacterial agents. This review summarises patent applications published between January 1999 and March 2002 claiming novel antibacterial agents that may provide relief from infections due to resistant bacterial pathogens. Variations on existing drug classes continue to appear; these compounds, however, are outside the scope of this review. Instead, the focus is on novel (not yet on market) classes for which a considerable patent estate has been formed or around which a variety of research groups have sought patents.

• β
• -lactamase
• antibacterial
• dihydrofolate reductase
• DNA polymerase III
• efflux pump
• fatty acid biosynthesis
• hydroxamic acid
• hygromycin
• lipopeptide
• peptide deformylase
• pleuromutilin
• resistance
• tRNA synthetase