New initiative to bridge the gap on antimicrobial innovation

Today, more than 20 leading biopharmaceutical companies are launching the AMR Action Fund, a ground-breaking partnership to invest nearly $1 billion to ensure a robust and diverse pipeline of new medicines to treat drug-resistant infections.

While the COVID-19 pandemic remains at the forefront of our minds, this disease is also exacerbating another increasing area of concern: antimicrobial resistance, or AMR.

To respond to COVID-19, doctors desperate to save patients are using a large amount of antibiotics to treat hospitalized patients at risk for secondary bacterial and fungal infections caused by ventilators or weakened immune systems. Unfortunately, this could speed up superbug growth, and in fact initial data suggests that 1 in 7 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 acquired a dangerous secondary bacterial infection, and 50% of patients who died had such infections.

At the same time as this emerging crisis is growing, research and development for new medicines to address AMR has been dwindling and the current environment for investment is insufficient to achieve a sustainable pipeline.

That’s why our industry is taking action through the AMR Action Fund. This fund aims to bring two to four new antimicrobials to market by 2030, focusing on innovative medicines that address the highest priority public health needs. This industry-driven effort will also work to drive comprehensive policy reforms that are needed to advance new reimbursement methodologies and create incentives that enable appropriate patient access, creating a sustainable ecosystem for antimicrobial R&D and commercialization.

The fund will also provide technical support to emerging companies, giving them access to the deep expertise and resources of large biopharmaceutical companies to strengthen and accelerate the development of novel antimicrobial medicines. 

It’s important to note that the fund is a highly collaborative effort involving a broad range of biopharmaceutical companies, philanthropies, development banks and multilateral organizations. Learn more about how we are working together to solve this emerging public health crisis here.