Doctors want 10 new antibiotics by 2020

The organization of more than 9,000 healthcare professionals involved in infectious disease research, education, patient care and prevention says there are few antibiotics in the development pipeline that would offer benefits over existing drugs, which are in danger of becoming ineffective as bacteria increasingly develop resistance.

"Prior generations gave us the gift of antibiotics," said Dr. David Gilbert, chairman of the group's Antimicrobial Availability Task Force. "Today, we have a moral obligation to ensure this global treasure is available for our children and future generations."

Gilbert said resistant organisms will continue to develop in perpetuity, so "we must have a plan in place to replenish our arsenal of drugs into the foreseeable future."

The Arlington, Va., organization's president, Dr. Richard Whitley, added: "The lack of new antibiotics in the pipeline threatens to leave physicians around the world without the tools they need to effectively treat patients, which could change the practice of medicine as we know it. Advances that we now take for granted, such as surgery, cancer treatment, transplants and the care of premature babies could become impossible as our antibiotic options dwindle."

The statement is to appear in the April 15 issue of the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Copyright 2010 United Press International.