Antibiotics Past, Present, and Future: At the Academic/Biotech Interface

As new antibiotics are brought into widespread clinical use for the treatment of life-threatening infections, resistant pathogens emerge as sensitive bacteria die off. Thus, there is a constant need for new generations of antibiotics to combat arising waves of multidrug resistant pathogens. Traditionally bacterial infections have been a target-poor therapeutic arena and many of the large pharmaceutical companies have closed their antibiotic R&D operations. This lecture offers a personal perspective on research at the interface of academic investigators and biotechnology startup companies to address the pressing need for new antibiotics.