Antibacterial agents: patent highlights January to June 2004.

This review presents highlights of 32 patents, published between January and June 2004, detailing different classes of antibacterial agents. Disclosures on novel oxazolidinone derivatives with antibacterial activity continue to dominate patent publications in recent years. Novel oxazolidinone derivatives active against linezolid-resistant cocci are reviewed. Patents on beta-lactam antibiotics focused mainly on developing new processes and formulations to improve cost, purity and pharmacokinetic parameters of existing clinical agents. Disclosures on novel potential dual-acting macrolide-quinolone hybrids designed to overcome erythromycin resistance, and new macrolide derivatives with antimycobacterial activity are described. Also presented are novel antibacterial agents, including peptide deformylase and cell-wall inhibitors, and those with undefined mechanisms of action as potential lead compounds, as well as quinolone and quinoline derivatives.