Antibiotics are a class of active pharmaceutical ingredients used to treat infectious diseases caused by bacteria. They therefore belong to the group of anti-infectives. They work by killing bacteria (bactericidal effect) or slowing down the growth of bacteria (bacteriostatic effect) so the body can fight the infection. Antibiotics are a very important class of active pharmaceutical ingredients, as serious infectious diseases were often considered a death sentence before the first anti-infectives were discovered. However, many antibiotics (German translation: Antibiotika) are becoming less effective due to resistance, which is why there is an urgent need to develop new antibiotic active pharmaceutical ingredients.

The most important characteristics of antibiotics include their:

• Effect on bacteria: Antibiotics are intended for the treatment of infections caused by bacteria and have no effect on viruses such as influenza viruses or HIV.
• Specificity: Different antibiotics are effective against different types of bacteria (e.g. gram-positive or gram-negative) and have different mechanisms of action. They attack various structures of the bacterial cell. For example, they can inhibit cell wall synthesis (translation into German: Zellwandsynthese). This makes them effective in fighting certain types of infections.
• Prescription drugs: Antibiotics for systemic use are (in Germany) only available if prescribed by a doctor. This allows the doctor to decide which antibiotic is most suitable for treating a particular infection.
• Prevention and treatment: Antibiotics can be used to treat active infections as well as for prophylaxis after surgeries or when certain risk factors are present.
• Antibiotic resistance (German translation: Antibiotikaresistenz): The increasing development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a serious problem in medicine that can make the treatment of infections more difficult or sometimes even impossible. It is therefore very important to use antibiotics correctly (e.g. not to prescribe them indiscriminately) and to follow the doctor's instructions as a patient.

Antibiotics are effective tools in medical practice and help fight infectious diseases, saving the lives of millions. However, the use of antibiotics must be careful and controlled to minimize the risk of bacterial resistance and other adverse effects.

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