Pharmacogenomic strategies against microbial resistance: from bright to bleak to innovative

Abstract

The last decade saw an alarming increase in antibiotic resistance in infections, with more than 13 million deaths per year from infections. Counter strategies include hygiene, antibiotic restriction and new antibiotics such as quinupristin, linezolid, tigecycline, daptomycin and dalbavancin. Presently, pharmacogenomics with basic research is revealing new antimicrobial peptides and is applying old drugs in new ways to break resistance. New approaches with host-directed drug targeting emerge to circumvent resistance. A future systems perspective from large-scale molecular techniques and bioinformatic modeling allows pharmacogenomics to reveal new intervention angles. This includes the fight against resistance and its transmission, improved vaccines, disarmament of microbes and antibiotic options from novel molecular targets (lipids, RNA and carbohydrates). Such a system perspective is also essential for improved diagnostics and individualized medicine. However, an increase in public awareness and closer cooperation of industry and basic research are essential to turn research into powerful new drugs that will enable us to treat new arising infections in the future.