210
failure of traditional methods of antibiotics discovery to keep pace with the evolution of antimicrobial resistance highlights the urgent need for the implementation of
strategies for prevention and containment of antimicrobial resistance along with the
discovery of new drugs (Smith and Romesberg 2007).
For instance, in the last year, only a few new classes of antibiotics have been
approved in contrast to the past where the development of new antibiotics was one
step ahead from the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (Soothill et al. 2013).
This constitutes a great threat to people’s wellbeing all around the world. Thus,
there is an urgent need for doing more innovative research to focus on the discovery
of novel antibacterial drugs. To address the threat imposed by multi drug resistant
bacteria, there is a great need for the application of faster and more adaptive pipelines so that novel antibacterial drugs can be developed within a shortened period
with less money. New antibacterial drug targets are also needed for developing new
antibacterial drug classes, which will not have any resistant antibacterial strains at
the beginning of their application. The novel strategies should be more adaptable to
the continuing emergence of antimicrobial resistance mutants and simultaneously
less time consuming. This can be achieved with the help of the advancements in
scientific technology during the last several decades and through the application of
new molecular mechanisms for drug actions along with the use of novel drug targets. Some of the most promising agents, which can be used against bacteria are
antisense oligonucleotides, phage therapies, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT)
and antimicrobial peptides and some new targets such as bacterial riboswitches
(Penchovsky and Traykovska 2015; Fair and Tor 2014).
9.4 Drug Discovery Including the Early History, Status,
and Future Trends
From a historical point of view, antimicrobial substances are being used since
ancient times. For instance, extracts from certain plants and molds were used against
various infections in ancient Egypt and Greece (Lindblad 2008). The pioneering
research of Louis Pasteur led to the development of the first vaccine against such as
Anthrax and Rabies. In 1928, Alexander Fleming observed by accident the antimicrobial activity of fungus Penicillium rubens against Staphylococcus. In 1942,
Howard Florey and others, taking into account Alexander Fleming’s discovery were
able to purify penicillin (Vellar 2002) paving the way for the emergence of the era
of contemporarily antibiotics that saved the lives of countless numbers of people
worldwide. For the creation of the first antibiotic, Howard Florey, Edward Abraham,
and Ernst Chain were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1945. From 1945 to 1980 during
the “golden era” of antibiotics, many new antibiotics were discovered. As a result,
mortality from bacterial infections was significantly reduced worldwide during the
twentieth century. Since 1980, the development of new antibiotics declined, in part
because of the huge expense associated with it. This coupled with the emergence of
A. Valsamatzi-Panagiotou et al.
failure of traditional methods of antibiotics discovery to keep pace with the evolution of antimicrobial resistance highlights the urgent need for the implementation of
strategies for prevention and containment of antimicrobial resistance along with the
discovery of new drugs (Smith and Romesberg 2007).
For instance, in the last year, only a few new classes of antibiotics have been
approved in contrast to the past where the development of new antibiotics was one
step ahead from the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (Soothill et al. 2013).
This constitutes a great threat to people’s wellbeing all around the world. Thus,
there is an urgent need for doing more innovative research to focus on the discovery
of novel antibacterial drugs. To address the threat imposed by multi drug resistant
bacteria, there is a great need for the application of faster and more adaptive pipelines so that novel antibacterial drugs can be developed within a shortened period
with less money. New antibacterial drug targets are also needed for developing new
antibacterial drug classes, which will not have any resistant antibacterial strains at
the beginning of their application. The novel strategies should be more adaptable to
the continuing emergence of antimicrobial resistance mutants and simultaneously
less time consuming. This can be achieved with the help of the advancements in
scientific technology during the last several decades and through the application of
new molecular mechanisms for drug actions along with the use of novel drug targets. Some of the most promising agents, which can be used against bacteria are
antisense oligonucleotides, phage therapies, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT)
and antimicrobial peptides and some new targets such as bacterial riboswitches
(Penchovsky and Traykovska 2015; Fair and Tor 2014).
9.4 Drug Discovery Including the Early History, Status,
and Future Trends
From a historical point of view, antimicrobial substances are being used since
ancient times. For instance, extracts from certain plants and molds were used against
various infections in ancient Egypt and Greece (Lindblad 2008). The pioneering
research of Louis Pasteur led to the development of the first vaccine against such as
Anthrax and Rabies. In 1928, Alexander Fleming observed by accident the antimicrobial activity of fungus Penicillium rubens against Staphylococcus. In 1942,
Howard Florey and others, taking into account Alexander Fleming’s discovery were
able to purify penicillin (Vellar 2002) paving the way for the emergence of the era
of contemporarily antibiotics that saved the lives of countless numbers of people
worldwide. For the creation of the first antibiotic, Howard Florey, Edward Abraham,
and Ernst Chain were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1945. From 1945 to 1980 during
the “golden era” of antibiotics, many new antibiotics were discovered. As a result,
mortality from bacterial infections was significantly reduced worldwide during the
twentieth century. Since 1980, the development of new antibiotics declined, in part
because of the huge expense associated with it. This coupled with the emergence of
A. Valsamatzi-Panagiotou et al.