LONDON – Adding to the immediate and obvious toll of serious illness and death, COVID-19 seems likely to be fueling development of resistance to antibiotic drugs, according to the findings of the most comprehensive analysis to date.
With the clock ticking on the urgent need to develop new antibiotics, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has given policy makers a sharp reminder that society should not lose focus on antibiotic resistance as well, which has the potential to dwarf COVID-19 in terms of deaths and economic costs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example, noted in its Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the U.S. 2019 report that more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result. Against a universal decline in the effectiveness of antibiotics, there has been a renaissance of interest in using phage therapy, whose use has waxed and waned for almost a century.
In July a major initiative of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, designed to combat the rising tide of antimicrobial resistance and accelerate the pace at which new antibiotics are discovered and brought to market, was announced. The $1 billion AMR Action Fund, supported by 23 pharma companies, was created “because there was a clear realization that we have no time to spare to address the lack of innovation in this area,” said Martin Bott, interim general manager of the fund, who described the progress being made with the fund in a fireside chat at this week’s virtual BIO Investor Forum.
PERTH, Australia – Sydney-based Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd. completed a placement of AU$27.95 million (US$19.69 million) to advance its synthetic anti-infective pipeline.
PERTH, Australia – Sydney-based Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd. completed a placement of AU$27.95 million (US$19.69 million) to advance its synthetic anti-infective pipeline to address antibiotic-resistant superbugs and emerging viral pathogens.
HONG KONG – Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) research enterprise in Singapore have found a way to not just reverse antibiotic resistance but also increase sensitivity in some bacteria, using hydrogen sulfide.
HONG KONG Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) research enterprise in Singapore, known as Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), have found a way to not just reverse antibiotic resistance but also increase sensitivity in some bacteria, using hydrogen sulfide.
PERTH, Australia – The University of Queensland’s Centre for Superbug Solutions has discovered a new class of antibiotics that has garnered an award from Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X).
PERTH, Australia – The University of Queensland’s Centre for Superbug Solutions has discovered a new class of antibiotics that has garnered an award from Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X).
LONDON – Twenty-three pharma companies are joining forces in the AMR Action Fund and have raised $1 billion in new money for the clinical development of antibiotic drugs.
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