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Abstract Background Trying to confront with the widespread burden of infectious diseases, the society worldwide invests considerably on research. We evaluated the contribution of different world regions in research production in Infectious Diseases. Methods Using the online Pubmed database we retrieved articles from 38 journals included in the "Infectious Diseases" category of the "Journal Citation Reports" database of the Institute for Scientific Information for the period 1995–2002. The world was divided into 9 regions based on geographic, economic and scientific criteria. Using an elaborate retrieval system we obtained data on published articles from different world regions. In our evaluation we introduced an estimate of both quantity and quality of research produced from each world region per year using: (1) the total number of publications, (2) the mean impact factor of publications, and (3) the product of the above two parameters. Results Data on the country of origin of the research was available for 45,232 out of 45,922 retrieved articles (98.5 %). USA and Western Europe are by far the most productive regions concerning publications of research articles. However, the rate of increase in the production of articles was higher in Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia during the study period. The mean impact factor is highest for articles originating in the USA (3.42), while it was 2.82 for Western Europe and 2.73 for the rest of the world (7 regions combined). Conclusion USA and Western Europe make up a striking 80% of the world's research production in Infectious Diseases in terms of both quantity and quality. However, all world regions achieved a gradual increase in the production of Infectious Diseases articles, with the regions ranking lower at present displaying the highest rate of increase.

Gram-negative bacterial infections constitute an emerging threat because of the development of multidrug-resistant organisms. There is a relative shortage of new drugs in the antimicrobial development pipeline that have been tested in vitro and evaluated in clinical studies. Antibiotics that are in the pipeline for the treatment of serious Gram-negative bacterial infections include the cephalosporins, ceftobiprole, ceftarolin and FR-264205. Tigecycline is the first drug approved from a new class of antibiotics called glycylcyclines, and there has been renewed interest in this drug for the treatment of some multidrug-resistant Gram-negative organisms. Carbapenems in the pipeline include tomopenem, with the approved drugs doripenem and faropenem, an oral agent, under evaluation for activity against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections. Polymyxins are old antibiotics traditionally considered to be toxic, but which are being used because of their activity against resistant Gram-negative organisms. New pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data are available regarding the use of these agents. Finally, antimicrobial peptides and efflux pump inhibitors are two new classes of agents under development. This review of investigational antibiotics shows that several new agents will become available in the coming years, even though the pace of antimicrobial research is far from ideal.