WHO Releases Target Product Profiles to Guide Development of Antibiotics Against Priority Pathogens
Key Insights
The World Health Organization has published three Target Product Profiles to direct antibiotic development toward severe multidrug-resistant gram-negative infections (search), severe gram-positive infections (search) in immunosuppressed patients, and bacterial meningitis (search).
Despite 90 new antibacterial agents in preclinical or clinical development, few clinical candidates target bacterial priority pathogens, with even fewer considered innovative by WHO standards.
Antimicrobial resistance (search) was directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019, with projections indicating AMR could cause ten million deaths by 2050 without intervention.
The World Health Organization has outlined desired antibacterial characteristics for three priority infections as part of a strategic move to direct research toward developing urgently needed antibiotics (search). The three Target Product Profiles (TPPs) published by WHO include specific guidance on the development of new treatments, providing a developmental framework to align innovation with the most pressing clinical needs.
Priority Pathogen Focus
The new TPPs align with the agency's bacterial priority pathogen list and target three global priorities for innovation: severe multidrug-resistant (MDR) gram-negative infections, severe gram-positive infections (search) in immunosuppressed and critically ill patients, and bacterial meningitis (search). These priorities were selected to address severe bloodstream and urinary tract infections (search), pneumonia (search), and central nervous system inflammations in at-risk populations worldwide.
Bacterial meningitis (search) represents a particularly urgent target, with approximately one person in six dying among those affected. The TPPs aim to foster collaboration between public and private sector partners to incentivize and reduce the risks associated with research and development for infections with significant healthcare burden.
Current Pipeline Limitations
Despite 90 new antibacterial agents being in preclinical or clinical development across various infections, according to WHO's antibacterial 2025 report, few clinical candidates target bacterial priority pathogens. The agency considers even fewer as 'innovative,' highlighting a critical gap in the development pipeline.
Dr. Yvan Hutin, director of antimicrobial resistance (search) at WHO, emphasized the urgency of the situation: "The scientific community has developed and approved new antibiotics (search) in recent years. This is good, but unfortunately not sufficient to catch up with evolving drug-resistance bacteria, especially against those of greatest concern. We need a reliable pipeline with new antibacterial agents that are innovative, affordable and accessible to all those who need them."
Global Health Impact
Antimicrobial Resistance (search) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites evolve to withstand antimicrobial medicines, rendering antibiotics (search) ineffective against resistant bacteria. In 2023, approximately one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections worldwide were caused by bacteria resistant to antibiotics.
The health burden is substantial: bacterial antimicrobial resistance (search) was directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019, the most recent year for which such data is available. Projections indicate that AMR could cause ten million deaths by 2050 unless action, such as developing more advanced antibiotics (search), is taken.
Funding and Global Response
In October 2025, WHO requested $85 million every two years from member states, donors, and partners to strengthen coordinated responses against AMR. However, the US departure from WHO may impact global health efforts at the agency, as the US has historically been WHO's largest donor.
Other regions have established independent initiatives. The UK pledged £210 million ($267.7 million) to help track antibiotic-resistant bacteria across Asia and Africa through The Fleming Fund (search)'s global antimicrobial resistance (search) surveillance programme, aiming to identify dangerous superbugs before they reach the UK. In September 2025, the European Union (search) launched a €253 million initiative to combat AMR.