Uppsala UniversitySep 23 2024 Antibiotic resistance is a global public health threat. Modern health systems rely on antibiotics to prevent and treat infections, and the need for new drugs is urgent. In a joint call to action, the AMR Accelerator projects ask for long-term investments, emphasizing the need to preserve the European capacity for antibiotic R&D by sustaining the assets, expertise, and research infrastructures required to develop new treatments for drug-resistant infections.
The call to action, published in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, emphasizes the need for coordinated action and commitments to meet the threat of antimicrobial resistance and secure a sustainable future for European antibiotic development. The return on investment is low, and many large pharmaceutical companies have abandoned the field. According to the authors, collaboration and risk-sharing can help keep companies in anti-infective drug development.
The AMR Accelerator portfolio ranges from discovery to phase II clinical trials, and covers both tuberculosis and Gram-negative bacteria. It represents a substantial investment from the European Commission and pharmaceutical industry. Funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative, the AMR Accelerator projects have a combined budget of €479 million.