Open Access

Marcus Miethke, Marco Pieroni, Karl Tilmann Weber, Mark Brönstrup, Peter Hammann, Ludovic Halby, Paola B. Arimondo, Philippe Glaser, Bertrand Aigle, Helge Björn Bode, Rui Moreira, Yanyan Li, Andriy Luzhetskyy, Marnix H. Medema, Jean-Luc Pernodet, Marc Stadler, José Rubén Tormo, Olga Genilloud, Andrew W. Truman, Kira J. Weissman, Eriko Takano, Stefano Sabatini, Evi Stegmann, Heike Brötz, Wolfgang Wohlleben, Myriam Seemann, Martin Empting, Anna K. H. Hirsch, Brigitta Loretz, Claus-Michael Lehr, Alexander Titz, Jennifer Herrmann, Timo Jäger, Silke Alt, Thomas Hesterkamp, Mathias Winterhalter, Andrea Schiefer, Kenneth Pfarr, Achim Hoerauf, Heather Graz, Michael Graz, Mika Lindvall, Savithri Ramurthy, Anders Karlén, Maarten van Dongen, Hrvoje Petkovic, Andreas Keller, Frédéric Peyrane, Stefano Donadio, Laurent Fraisse, Laura J. V. Piddock, Ian H. Gilbert, Heinz E. Moser, Rolf Müller

• An ever-increasing demand for novel antimicrobials to treat life-threatening infections caused by the global spread of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens stands in stark contrast to the current level of investment in their development, particularly in the fields of natural-product-derived and synthetic small molecules. New agents displaying innovative chemistry and modes of action are desperately needed worldwide to tackle the public health menace posed by antimicrobial resistance. Here, our consortium presents a strategic blueprint to substantially improve our ability to discover and develop new antibiotics. We propose both short-term and long-term solutions to overcome the most urgent limitations in the various sectors of research and funding, aiming to bridge the gap between academic, industrial and political stakeholders, and to unite interdisciplinary expertise in order to efficiently fuel the translational pipeline for the benefit of future generations.