Nature and purpose of this database

AntibioticDB is an open-access database that catalogues and describes known antibacterial agents, consolidating data from diverse sources that include the primary research literature, patents and conference abstracts.

AntibioticDB is based upon an idea by Professor Laura Piddock, who also designed and developed it, as described in Farrell et al. Initial development and curation of AntibioticDB was supported by the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (March 2017 to June 2019) and curation led by Laura Piddock. Since 2022, further evolution of the AntibioticDB database and website has been led by GARDP, with curation overseen by Professor Alex O’Neill (University of Leeds, UK).

The information provided in AntibioticDB intends to serve both as a reference and a source of starting points for future research and (re-)development of antibacterial therapeutics. Within its 3000+ entries, AntibioticDB not only captures compounds that have reached preclinical/ clinical development or are licensed for clinical use, but also includes experimental antibacterial agents. Whilst many entries in AntibioticDB are classical ‘antibiotics’ (small molecules that directly inhibit or kill bacteria), the database also includes a diverse range of non-canonical antibacterial agents (e.g., anti-virulence compounds, antibodies, bacteriophages, host-directed agents).

Using the database

1. Type your query into the search bar and click ‘search’ (or hit Enter).
   • Type part of the name and add a * (asterisk sign) as the wildcard character.
   • Type only * and search for all compounds.
2. By default, searches are restricted to compound (drug) names, classes and synonyms. Select the 'search all database fields' option to search across all database fields.
3. Search results can be reordered, filtered or downloaded by selecting the corresponding options at the top of the table of results.
4. Click on an individual result to access all information held for that entry in AntibioticDB.
5. The entire current dataset in AntibioticDB can be viewed or downloaded from the landing page by clicking on “List or download”.

How to cite AntibioticDB​​

L J Farrell, R Lo, J J Wanford, A Jenkins, A Maxwell, L J V Piddock (2018). Revitalizing the drug pipeline: AntibioticDB, an open access database to aid antibacterial research and development, Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 73: 2284–2297, https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dky208​​​

Further Resources​

Classes of antibiotics

Find more open-access resources about antimicrobial R&D, such as webinars, articles and more, on GARDP’s REVIVE. ​​