Antibacterial agents: patent highlights January to June 2002.

A total of 48 patents dealing with disclosures on the different classes of antibacterial agents, including the beta-lactams, oxazolidinones, macrolides, quinolones, tetracyclines and miscellaneous antibacterial agents reported between January and June 2002 are selected for review. The miscellaneous agents section focused on the significant discovery of potential lead compounds as inhibitors of bacterial fatty acid synthase and peptide deformylase, and also included examples of novel peptidic antibiotics and pleuromutilin derivatives along with their antibacterial activities. Only a few patents disclosed novel agents in the quinolone and carbapenem areas. There are several patents disclosing improved formulation of old agents to increase their effectiveness and stability upon storage. Two patents disclosed effectiveness of antibiotic combinations with respect to the newer antibiotics linezolid and quinupristin/dalfopristin.