Narrow-Spectrum Antibacterial Agents—Benefits and Challenges

Abstract

The number of antibacterial agents in clinical and preclinical development possessing activity against a narrow spectrum of bacterial pathogens is increasing, with many of them being nontraditional products. The key value proposition hinges on sparing antibiotic use and curtailing the emergence of resistance, as well as preventing the destruction of a beneficial microbiome, versus the immediate need for effective treatment of an active infection with a high risk of mortality. The clinical use of a targeted spectrum agent, most likely in combination with a rapid and robust diagnostic test, is a commendable goal with significant healthcare benefits if executed correctly. However, the path to achieving this will come with several challenges, and many scientific and clinical development disciplines will need to align their efforts to successfully change the treatment paradigm.

Precision Probiotics in Agroecosystems: Multiple Strategies of Native Soil Microbiotas for Conquering the Competitor Ralstonia solanacearum

“…The use of narrow-spectrum antibiotic agents in the agricultural and clinical fields has been advocated because of their ability to reduce negative effects, such as the emergence of resistance and destruction of the beneficial microbiome while antagonizing pathogens ( 55 , 56 ). For example, thuricin CD, a narrow-spectrum bacteriocin produced by Bacillus thuringiensis , inhibits Clostridioides (formerly Clostridium ) difficile in the distal colon without remarkable disruption of the microbiota ( 57 ).…”

Antimicrobial compounds from an FDA-approved drug library with activity against Streptococcus suis

“…suis infection. Moreover, the concept of narrow‐spectrum antimicrobials, which target specific species and pose little pressure against other bacteria, has been proposed as an alternative to combat AMR (Alm & Lahiri, 2020). Under this circumstance, developing novel antimicrobials against S .…”

Bacteria and the growing threat of multidrug resistance for invasive cardiac interventions

“…1, Ref. [74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82]). These broad-spectrum antibiotics affect unintended and often nonpathogenic bacteria in the environment, which act as reservoirs for the development of multidrug resistance [74].…”

“…These broad-spectrum antibiotics affect unintended and often nonpathogenic bacteria in the environment, which act as reservoirs for the development of multidrug resistance [74]. Broad-spectrum antibiotics also have a huge impact on the human gut microbiota, frequently resulting in an overgrowth of Clostridium difficile [75]. The multiplicity of molecular mechanisms underlying multidrug resistance has led to the search for different approaches in new antiinfectious strategies, including (in the addition to the de-velopment of new antibiotics) drug re-purposing.…”