The World Health Organization (WHO) published today three new Target Product Profiles (TPPs) for antibacterial agents designed to address key drug-resistant bacteria causing severe bloodstream and urinary tract infections, pneumonia and meningitis in at-risk populations worldwide. The new TPPs focus on developing new antibiotics for severe multidrug-resistant Gram-negative infections, antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive infections in immunosuppressed and critically ill patients, and community-acquired and health care-associated bacterial meningitis.
Developed through extensive global consultation, the TPPs define the minimum and preferred characteristics of future antibacterials, supporting researchers, product developers, regulators and funders to align innovation with unmet clinical needs and bacterial priority pathogens.
Despite 90 new antibacterial agents being in preclinical or clinical development, as highlighted in WHO’s 2025 antibacterial pipeline analysis, few clinical candidates target bacterial priority pathogens and even fewer are considered innovative.
“The scientific community has developed and approved new antibiotics in recent years. This is good, but unfortunately not sufficient to catch up with evolving drug-resistance bacteria, especially against those of greatest concern,” said Dr Yvan Hutin, Director of Antimicrobial Resistance at WHO. “We need a reliable pipeline with new antibacterial agents that are innovative, affordable, accessible to all those who need them.”
Three global priorities for innovation
The TPPs aim to prioritize globally those infections associated with high morbidity and mortality, including both community- and hospital-acquired infections across all age groups, health care settings, and regions. They also define clear targets for quality, efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics that reflect the needs of diverse patient populations, including immunosuppressed and critically ill patients, as well as neonates and children. The TPPs also seek to foster collaboration between public and private sector partners to incentivize and reduce the risks associated with antibacterial research and development.