Indolcarboxamide is a preclinical candidate for treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

New chemotherapeutic compounds against multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) are urgently needed to combat drug resistance in tuberculosis (TB). We have identified and characterized the indolcarboxamides as a new class of antitubercular bactericidal agent. Genetic and lipid profiling studies identified the likely molecular target of indolcarboxamides as MmpL3, a transporter of trehalose monomycolate that is essential for mycobacterial cell wall biosynthesis.

Discovery of Q203, a potent clinical candidate for the treatment of tuberculosis.

New therapeutic strategies are needed to combat the tuberculosis pandemic and the spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) forms of the disease, which remain a serious public health challenge worldwide. The most urgent clinical need is to discover potent agents capable of reducing the duration of MDR and XDR tuberculosis therapy with a success rate comparable to that of current therapies for drug-susceptible tuberculosis. The last decade has seen the discovery of new agent classes for the management of tuberculosis, several of which are currently in clinical trials.