Recent developments with oxazolidinone antibiotics

The emerging problems with multiple antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive cocci led to the re-evaluation of an antibacterial class of compounds, the oxazolidinones. During the 1990s, many companies such as Upjohn, Bayer, Zeneca, Roussel Uclaf, Marion Merrell Dow and Glaxo published their work on antibacterial active oxazolidinones. The primary work in this area started in the 1980s at DuPont. The efforts of these scientists led to N-phenyl and N-heteroaryl oxazolidinones with strong antibacterial activity in vitro and in vivo. The most advanced oxazolidinone, linezolid, discovered by scientists at Upjohn, is currently undergoing Phase III clinical trials.