NTM drug discovery: status, gaps and the way forward

Drug Discov Today. 2018 Aug;23(8):1502-1519. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2018.04.001. Epub 2018 Apr 7.

Abstract

Incidence of pulmonary diseases caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), relatives of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is increasing at an alarming rate, surpassing tuberculosis in many countries. Current chemotherapies require long treatment times and the clinical outcomes are often disappointing. There is an urgent medical need to discover and develop new, more-efficacious anti-NTM drugs. In this review, we summarize the current status of NTM drug development, and highlight knowledge gaps and scientific obstacles in NTM drug discovery. We propose strategies to reduce biological uncertainties and to begin to populate a NTM drug pipeline with attractive leads and drug candidates.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / chemistry
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Drug Discovery / methods*
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial
  • Humans
  • Molecular Structure
  • Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / drug therapy*
  • Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / microbiology
  • Nontuberculous Mycobacteria / drug effects*
  • Nontuberculous Mycobacteria / pathogenicity
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents