Broad, AstraZeneca Target Antibiotics

AstraZeneca and the Broad Institute will work together to find new antibacterial and antiviral compounds. Under the two-year pact, Broad will screen its custom-made chemical library of 100,000 molecules generated by diversity-oriented synthesis. AstraZeneca will be responsible for optimizing and developing any lead compounds discovered by Broad. In the past 30 years, just two new classes of antibiotics have emerged, despite an alarming rise in drug-resistant bacteria, AstraZeneca notes.