Introduction

Modern medicine has been transformed by the discovery and use of antibacterial drugs, allowing previously fatal infectious diseases to be treated, enabling vital medical procedures to be carried out, and to prevent infection. However, the future utility of these therapies is threatened by a reduction in the development of new antibacterial compounds coupled with the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance, which has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a major global health threat [1]. The rapid spread of bacterial strains resistant to available antibacterial medicines is of particular concern, including the 'ESKAPE' pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp.) that are responsible for many nosocomial infections [2-3].

IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology (GtoPdb) collaborates with AntibioticDB (ADB; www.antibioticdb.com), an open-access database of antibacterial agents. The maintenance and further development of ADB has been supported by the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP; https://gardp.org/) since 2022. ADB was set up to serve as a reference and a source of starting points for future research and (re-)development of antibacterial therapeutics [4]. This collaboration has provided expert-driven oversight to increase the coverage of antibacterial compounds in GtoPdb.

Definition

An antibacterial can be defined as a drug, chemical or other substance that kills bacteria (bactericidal) or stops their growth (bacteriostatic). The term antibiotic refers to compounds with antimicrobial activity derived from bacteria or molds but is often used synonymously with antibacterial.

Inclusion Criteria

Antibacterials will be prioritised for inclusion in the Guide to PHARMACOLOGY if:

• They are single molecules
• The chemical structure/s are fully defined
• There are validated minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against relevant bacterial species
• There is validated (preferably quantitative) evidence for a molecular target or targets through which the biological effects are mediated

Compounds of undisclosed formulation or undefined mixtures of compounds will not be included.

Data Content

Breakdown of antibacterial data in GtoPdb:
All Antibacterials: 668
Antibacterials (Approved Drugs): 269

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The information on this page is curated by the GtoPdb curation team at the University of Edinburgh. If the information is useful to you, please cite it by referring to our citation page.