Novel Anti-Infectives

In the Topic "Novel Anti-Infectives" (Topic 3), researchers are discovering and developing new anti-infectives. Drug research at HZI is concentrating in particular on natural products – substances that are produced by organisms like bacteria and fungi in great variety. Some of these compounds have medical effects. At HZI, an interdisciplinary team of leading experts with both academic and industry backgrounds develops innovative methods to identify, characterize and improve natural products which could be used against bacteria and viruses. By means of medicinal chemistry, they optimize these compounds as well as small molecules chemically and pharmaceutically to make them suitable for the application as drugs. In cooperation with industrial partners, the substances are then further developed towards clinical trials and finally use in patients.  Furthermore, scientists establish new technologies to ensure the safe and effective delivery of the drug to the site where it is needed, as for example the infected organ, tissue or cell.