Directions for research and development of anti-tuberculosis drugs

The increasing incidence of new cases of tuberculosis, of latent forms and with multiple and extended resistance, required the acceleration of the research and elaboration of the anti-tuberculosis drugs by elucidating new targets. The main directions of study of the new compounds focused on the influence on the cell wall, the synthesis of proteins and nucleic acids, the energy metabolism, as well as on the immune status of the host. At the base of these strategies were the data regarding the structural components and the particularities of the life cycle of mycobacteria at different stages of disease evolution.