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. 2020 Jul 28;15(7):e0236604.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236604. eCollection 2020.

A novel pre-clinical antibacterial pipeline database

Sarah Paulin  1 , Richard A Alm  2 , Peter Beyer  1
Affiliations

A novel pre-clinical antibacterial pipeline database

Sarah Paulin et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The clinical pipeline continues to be insufficient to contain antimicrobial resistance, and further investment and research is needed to ensure that a robust pipeline is built to treat the WHO priority pathogens list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. To shed light further upstream on the preclinical pipeline the WHO has undertaken a review of the antibacterial preclinical pipeline and published the data of all identified projects in a publicly accessible database. The database captures 252 unique antibacterial agents in preclinical development being developed by 145 individual institutions, of which the majority are smaller biotech companies and academic institutions. There is a higher degree of innovation in the preclinical pipeline with a significant number of non-traditional approaches being pursued. For even a fraction of these projects to reach clinical development or the market, there is a need to shift the market dynamics for new antibacterials through the identification of new solutions beyond push and pull incentives.

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Conflict of interest statement

RAA is currently employed (salary) by CARB-X, an R&D accelerator supporting antibacterial development projects. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. The contents do not necessarily represent the views of the CARB-X project nor any CARB-X project funder including the governments of the United States (BARDA, NIAID), the United Kingdom (DHSC, GAMRIF), or Germany (BMBF), the Wellcome Trust, or the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Geographical distribution of the institutions with active preclinical pipeline projects.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Percentage of distribution of pre-clinical pipeline projects across the pre-clinical development stages; lead optimization, pre-clinical candidate selection, CTA/IND-enabling studies.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Distribution of pathogens targeted by a single pathogen product (n = 100).
Fig 4
Fig 4. Planned formulations of antibacterial pre-clinical pipeline projects.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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