The race for antimicrobials in the multidrug resistance era

The appearance of multidrug‐resistant pathogens is a major threat to human health with the reemergence of fatal and untreatable diseases. In addition to a rational use of the well‐known and available antibiotics, two complementary ways to overcome this public health issue are (i) the discovery of new antimicrobials and (ii) the chemical modification of pre‐existing potent antibiotics. In this article, we highlight some of the strategies to generate new and promising antimicrobials for use in the management of these so‐called ‘superbugs’.