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.

Hydrocele is a build-up of fluid in the scrotal regions of a proportion of men infected with the filarial nematode Wuchereria bancrofti. Vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) are major mediators of vascular permeability and angiogenesis in the development and progression of many diseases, making them candidates in hydrocele development. We assessed the role of VEGF-A genetic polymorphisms in hydrocele development in a cohort of lymphatic filariasis patients from Ghana. Three VEGF-A promoter polymorphisms were examined. The C/C genotype at -460 was significantly higher in hydrocele patients ([P = 0.0007], OR = 3.8 [95% CI = 1.9-8.2]) than in non-hydrocele patients. Furthermore, plasma levels of VEGF-A were significantly higher in subjects with the C/C genotype than in those with other genotypes. Also, a positive correlation (R(2) = 0.412, P = 0.026) was observed between plasma VEGF-A and stage of hydrocele. The data suggest that the C polymorphism at -460 is a genetic risk factor for hydrocele development in lymphatic filariasis.