AUTHOR=Quang Nguyen Thanh , Jang Jichan 

TITLE=Current Molecular Therapeutic Agents and Drug Candidates for Mycobacterium abscessus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2021.724725

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2021.724725

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Mycobacterium abscessus</italic> has been recognised as a dreadful respiratory pathogen among the non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) because of misdiagnosis, prolonged therapy with poor treatment outcomes and a high cost. This pathogen also shows extremely high antimicrobial resistance against current antibiotics, including the anti-tuberculosis agents. Therefore, current chemotherapies require a long curative period and the clinical outcomes are not satisfactory. Thus, there is an urgent need for discovering and developing novel, more effective anti-<italic>M. abscessus</italic> drugs. In this review, we sum the effectiveness of the current anti-<italic>M. abscessus</italic> drugs and drug candidates. Furthermore, we describe the shortcomings and difficulties associated with <italic>M. abscessus</italic> drug discovery and development.</p>