The emergence of drug resistance in many bacterial pathogens and the rise
of fungal infections have caused a resurgence of interest in finding new reserves of
bioactive compounds. The increase in resistance to conventional antibiotics by many
bacterial pathogens may be due to the decline in the discovery and development of
novel antibiotics. Superbugs are those microorganisms (pathogens) that are resistant to
the commonly used antibiotics. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published
a list of twelve potentially most dangerous priority pathogens with antibiotic resistance
in 2017 and emphasized on discovering new antibiotics to tackle these pathogens.
ESKAPE pathogens comprising Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus,
Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumanii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and,
Enterobacter species can productively escape the antagonistic effects of the current
antimicrobial agents. Urgent discovery of new drugs to tackle these resistant pathogens
is required. This chapter mainly focuses on the strategies and methods on discovering
novel antibiotics against drug resistant pathogens.
Keywords: Antibiotic Resistance, ESKAPE Pathogens, Superbugs, Strategies and
Methods, World Health Organisation (WHO).
