Treatment of health-care-associated infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria: a co

[News Feeder14]

This consensus statement presents the conclusions of a group of academic and industrial experts who met in London in September 2006, to consider the issues associated with the treatment of hospital infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. The group discussed the severe clinical problems arising from the emergence of antibiotic resistance in these bacteria and the lack of new antibacterial agents to challenge the threat.

The following are discussed:


• Medical need for novel antibiotics
• Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria: mechanisms of resistance
• Disturbing trends for resistance in Gram-negative bacteria
• Lack of new antimicrobials effective against Gram-negative pathogens
• Reasons for the lack of new antimicrobials for Gram-negative pathogens
• Strategies to promote antimicrobial drug discovery

The group concludes (taken directly from the article): “If society is to avoid a return to the pre-antibiotic era, particularly for the treatment of health-care-associated infections, then further investment in antimicrobial drug discovery is essential now. For a variety of reasons, many large pharmaceutical companies have withdrawn from antibiotic research, creating a gap that can be filled by initiatives between academia and small companies. Considerable expertise, with the potential to deliver new antimicrobial agents, exists within these institutions. Some funding schemes to support these initiatives already exist but must be expanded to support a more sustained level of cooperation between public and private institutions for the discovery of new antimicrobial drugs”.
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