During the course of our research on the lead optimisation of the NBTI (Novel Bacterial Type II Topoisomerase Inhibitors) class of antibacterials, we discovered a series of tricyclic compounds that showed good Gram-positive and Gram-negative potency. Herein we will discuss the various subunits that were investigated in this series and report advanced studies on compound 1 (GSK945237) which demonstrates good PK and in vivo efficacy properties.