Every year, 10 million people contract tuberculosis (TB). Around 1.5 million patients succumb to the disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). The novel antibiotic BTZ-043 has shown good bactericidal activity in human clinical trials. In a study recently published in the journal Nature Communications, DZIF scientists led by the University of Bayreuth and the Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center were able to show that BTZ-043 effectively penetrates TB lesions, accumulates there in high concentrations and can thus fight the Mtb bacteria even in hard-to-reach areas.