Discovery of anti-infective drugs using genome-based technologies

摘要

Many effective anti-infective drugs have been developed from the compounds based on direct anti-infective screening programs. However, the development of anti-infective drugs has been historically restricted to a limited set of validated targets. Such a strategy caused insufficient chemical variability, which resulted in clinical resistance and the appearance of novel pathogens, promoted further by excess medication with particular drugs. Therefore, discovery of novel drugs that have new modes of action has been highly anticipated. The whole genome sequence has recently become available for many organisms. This provides an opportunity to expand the range of potential drug targets, and to change the strategy from a direct anti-infective screening program to rational target-based drug design. The application of genome-based technologies would lead to further change in the drug discovery process. In this review, their application to the drug discovery process is reviewed.