PLOS ONE | Investment and research are needed to ensure that a robust clinical pipeline is built to treat the WHO priority pathogens list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The WHO has created a database projects underway which captures 252 unique antibacterial agents in preclinical development being developed by 145 individual institutions, of which the majority are smaller biotech companies and academic institutions. There is a higher degree of innovation in the preclinical pipeline with a significant number of non-traditional approaches being pursued. This article, co-authored by CARB-X Alliance Director Richard Alm, takes a closer look at the pipeline to understand its strengths and gaps.