On the Road to Discovering Urgently Needed Antibiotics: So Close Yet So Far Away

The Pew Charitable Trusts’ 2016 publication “A Scientific Roadmap for Antibiotic Discovery” provided a consensus approach to accelerating the discovery of novel antibiotics targeting Gram-negative pathogens. Since then, encouraging initiatives have launched to catalyze antibiotics discovery, particularly by improving knowledge sharing and making discovery efforts more efficient and effective. However, because the global pipeline remains insufficient to address current and future unmet needs, existing initiatives are not enough. Sustained public funding is critical, particularly as private funding continues to dwindle. And with public funding comes the responsibility of sharing what has been learned. Finally, a “precompetitive” R&D model in which the financial return on investment is not a primary driver warrants further consideration.