Emerging cephalosporins.

Several cephalosporins are in clinical development as broad-spectrum agents with potent activity against multi-resistant staphylococci as well as the Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria normally susceptible to advanced generation cephalsoporins. These agents represent a novel activity for the class and challenge a dogma that beta-lactams do not have clinically useful activity against multi-resistant staphylococci. The most advanced of these agents, ceftobiprole, is approaching registration and, if approved, will present physicians with a new paradigm in treatment of serious infections by multi-resistant organisms.