Medicines that stop bacteria from harming their hosts, rather than kill them, could prevent bugs from evolving resistance to drug treatments, the study by University of Edinburgh found.
Scientists have found that anti-virulence (AV) drugs - which work in a different way to antibiotics - could help curb bacteria's growing resistance to antibiotic treatments.
Current treatments for infections aim to kill bacteria or stop them from growing, but this can drastically alter how the bugs evolve, and aid the survival of resistant strains.
AV drugs can stop the parts of bacteria that make people ill from working without killing or harming bugs directly.
The number of bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics is growing, which means infections that are currently curable could become life-threatening if the bugs responsible become immune to existing drugs.
The University team carried out a comprehensive review of research in the area over the last five years. They say advances in drug discovery methods, together with positive results in clinical trials, indicate that AV drugs could provide an effective and potentially longer lasting means of combating antibiotic resistance.
Findings from the study suggest the new medicines could work well both alone and in combination with existing treatments.