MMP015: A Scientific Roadmap for Antibiotic Discovery

Host: Jeff Fox with special guests, Carolyn Shore and Ruben Tommasi. Carolyn Shore of Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C., and Ruben Tommasi of Entasis Therapeutics in Waltham, Massachusetts, talk with Jeff Fox about what’s needed to identify and develop new antimicrobial agents to treat infections caused by bacterial pathogens, with an emphasis on gram-negative bacterial pathogens.  According to that recent report from Pew Charitable Trust, which is based in Philadelphia, the challenges facing developers of such antibiotics fall into four main categories: developing a better understanding of the workings of gram-negative bacterial pathogens, a shortage of candidate drugs whose chemical design focuses on bacterial pathogens, an assessment of non-traditional efforts to control microbial infections, and an overview of what’s needed in terms of expertise and of sharing information among investigators in this field to meet these challenges. This story was featured in the July 2016 issue of Microbe Magazine. Subscribe to MMP (free) on iTunes, Stitcher, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app. Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or audio file) to [email protected] Tweet me your questions about this episode or just say hi!