Prospects for development of new antimycobacterial drugs.

In this article, I have thoroughly reviewed the status of development of new antimycobacterial drugs, particularly fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, sparfloxacin, levofloxacin, gatifloxacin, sitafloxacin, and moxifloxacin), new macrolides (clarithromycin, azithromycin, and roxithromycin), rifamycin derivatives (rifabutin, rifapentine, and KRM-1648), and others. The main purpose of this review was to describe the in-vitro and in-vivo activities of these drugs against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium avium complex. In addition, the therapeutic efficacy of these drugs in the clinical treatment of mycobacterial infections has also been briefly mentioned.