Two lead, ruthenium antimicrobial compounds have been developed. The compounds exhibit comparable activities to clinically available antibiotics and retain this high activity in extensively-drug resistant strains. The high efficacy and low mammalian toxicity of the compounds has been demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. The compounds have been validated in the marketplace and, given the strong preclinical data, their further development has been funded through the formation of a new spin-out company.