AMR Accelerator urges long-term funding
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a huge threat to the prevention and treatment of a growing number of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses, and fungi. A public-private partnership involving nine European projects and 98 organisations is now calling for long-term investment to maintain Europe’s ability to research and develop new antibiotics.
Antibiotics are one of the greatest medical discoveries in history. Since their introduction in the early 20th century, they have transformed healthcare, making once-deadly infections treatable and enabling surgeries and treatments that were previously too risky due to the threat of infection. Their development revolutionized modern medicine. However, the rise of antibiotic resistance threatens to undo these advancements, making it crucial to invest in the research and development of new antibiotics to keep pace with evolving “superbugs.”
On September 26, the United Nations General Assembly will discuss antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in a high-level meeting, highlighting the importance of political action. The AMR Accelerator, which includes 98 organisations, is pushing for governments and private sectors to fund antibiotic development and AMR research. The AMR Accelerator spans the entire R&D process, from early discovery to Phase II clinical trials, focusing on tuberculosis and Gram-negative bacteria. Funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative, it has a budget of €479 million and has supported 44 antibacterial programmes over the last five years. So far, this effort has led to two completed Phase I studies and five more in Phases I and II. But the funding won’t last forever, warns Anders Karlén, Professor at Uppsala University and Coordinator of the COMBINE project, which connects the AMR Accelerator projects. “Without a solid funding plan, all the progress we’ve made in advancing the antibacterial pipeline could be lost.”^
The call to action was published in the comment section of Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, concluding: “There are few researchers and organisations left with the expertise, skills and infrastructure to tackle AMR and discover new antibiotics. Long-term funding for antibiotic development partnerships will help attract young scientists to the field and keep companies in anti-infective drug development. To secure a sustainable future for efforts of this scale, we call on government leaders, the private sector and other stakeholders to invest in the development of antibiotics and AMR research.“
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