38th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) San Diego, USA, 24–27 September 1998

Summary 

The renaissance in infections diseases, stimulated by well-documented and publicized microbial resistance, continues. The field is benefiting from the infusion of new technologies, aimed at accelerating the discovery process: genomics, combinatorial chemistry and high throughput screening. At this year's ICAAC, there were numerous reports on drug resistance and drug discovery though no surprises on either front. Microbial resistance to established agents is still edging upwards. Most agents (oxazolidinones, everninomycins, glycopeptides, ketolides, quinolones, β-lactams, azoles, echinocandins, sordarins) introduced in previous years are still in development. Combination antiretroviral chemotherapy (protease inhibitors, NRTIs and NNRTIs) is now the mainstream therapy for AIDS, at least in the developed world. A few antimicrobial agents (augmentin, ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, fluconazole) are near or past the billion dollar mark, underscoring the healthy state of the market. In conclusion, convergence of medical needs and commercial opportunities has brought microbes and antimicrobials into center stage.

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