Antibacterial Alternatives to a Dying Antibiotic Pipeline

Purpose of review This study summarized the current problems and potential solutions related to the rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria, the lack of antibiotics, and new avenues of research in developing new antimicrobial alternatives, such as using bacteriocins, bacteriophage therapy, antimicrobial peptides, and nanoparticles. Recent findings Advances in the research of alternative antimicrobial agents in emerging with promising results. These alternative antimicrobials are still developing, and more research is required to bring these products to clinical applications. Summary A dramatic increase in the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria is challenging the research community to find new antimicrobial agents. Multifactorial events have contributed to this emergence, including the lack of research and development of new antibiotics in pharmaceutical companies, the rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria, and the misuse of antibiotics. Another factor exacerbating this problem is that most pharmaceutical companies have closed their antibiotic discovery pipelines. All these factors contributed to the appearance of more resistant pathogenic bacteria, alarming and burdening the health systems.