Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Roadmap for antibiotic discovery

There are no antibiotic candidates simply waiting to be brought to market. Overcoming the scientific barriers to innovation will require research and coordination beyond anything that exists in academia, industry or government. We discuss a plan to accelerate the discovery of antibiotics and their transition into the clinic.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Discovery of novel antibiotic classes (groups of drugs with similar chemical structures) has declined since the mid-twentieth century.

References

  1. Silver, L. L. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 24, 71–109 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Knapp, C. C. & Washington J. A. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 30, 938–939 (1986)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Scientific Roadmap for Antibiotic Discovery. Pew Charitable Trusts (11 May 2016); http://www.pewtrusts.org/antibiotic-discovery

  4. O'shea, R. & Moser H. E. J. Med. Chem. 51, 2871–2878 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Payne, D. J., Gwynn, M. N., Holmes, D. J. & Pompliano, D. L. Nature Rev. Drug Discov. 6, 29–40 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Tommasi, R. et al. Nature Rev. Drug Discov. 14, 529–542 (2015).

  7. Lipinski, C. A., Lombardo, F., Dominy, B. W. & Feeney, P. J. Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. 64, 4–17 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Czaplewski, L. et al. Lancet Infect. Dis. 16, 239–251 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Craig, W. A. Clin. Infect. Dis. 26, 1–12 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Buckmon, K. BARDA Seeks to launch a novel partnership, a product accelerator to address antimicrobial resistance. ASPR Blog (19 February 2016); http://go.nature.com/sCgY5l

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the antibiotic discovery working group, which included S. Brickner (SJ Brickner Consulting); K. Bush (Indiana University Bloomington); T. Dougherty (Harvard Medical School); Erwin (Erwin Consulting); D. Hooper (Massachusetts General Hospital); D. Hung (Broad Institute); Kwong (InnovaTID Pharmaceuticals); R. Lee (St Jude Children's Research Hospital); K. Lewis (Northeastern University); Miller (Entasis Therapeutics); S. Mobashery (University of Notre Dame); B. Mott (National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health); D. Payne (GlaxoSmithKline); M. Riley (University of Massachusetts Amherst); Rubio (Spero Therapeutics); Silver (LL Silver Consulting); J. Silverman (VL32); J. Sutcliffe (Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals); Tomaras (BacterioScan); R. Tommasi (Entasis Therapeutics); and D. Zurawski (Walter Reed Army Institute of Research). In addition, we thank T. Schenkelberg (West Monument Consulting) for providing strategic advice. Although these individuals provided input on the roadmap, neither they nor their organizations necessarily endorse its findings or conclusions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Carolyn K. Shore or Allan Coukell.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shore, C., Coukell, A. Roadmap for antibiotic discovery. Nat Microbiol 1, 16083 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.83

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.83

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Translational Research

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Translational Research newsletter — top stories in biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma.

Get what matters in translational research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Translational Research