Scientists sound the alarm over lack of antibiotics
Urgent appeal from researchers, clinicians and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Paul Ehrlich Society for Infection Therapy (PEG) to improve the conditions for the development of new, resistance-breaking antibiotics.
According to the WHO, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the ten greatest threats to global health. In the EU alone, around 35,000 people die every year from antibiotic-resistant infections. The WHO estimates that 1.27 million deaths worldwide in 2019 were directly attributable to drug-resistant infections.
At the 29th Annual Meeting of the Paul Ehrlich Society, researchers, clinicians and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry are therefore making an urgent appeal to the German government to develop economic regulations to enable the development and commercialisation of new antibiotics in the long term. Together, they are pursuing the goal of improving the conditions for the development of new, resistance-breaking antibiotics.
The research pipeline for new antibiotics is virtually empty. The reason: pharmaceutical companies are increasingly abandoning antibiotic development and production. The usual market mechanisms do not work for antibiotics, as they can only be used very restrictively in order to delay the development of new resistances. This means that only very small quantities can be sold—the turnover that can be achieved is nowhere near enough to cover the costs of developing and marketing the antibiotics.
Other mechanisms need to be found to incentivise the development of new, resistance-breaking antibiotics and make them affordable—for example, through new reimbursement models that are decoupled from the sale of antibiotics. Discussions on such new reimbursement models include generating additional revenue by extending the exclusive sale of another drug, which would benefit the company that has developed a new antibiotic.
At the PEG conference, therapies with bacteriophages and the use of active substances that weaken bacteria and thus prevent their pathogenic effect (pathoblockers) will also be presented as possible future alternatives to antibiotics. The establishment of new market mechanisms for antibiotics and research into alternative anti-infectives are essential in view of increasing resistance.
Further information can be found at
https://www.peg-symposien.org/id-29-jahrestagung-der-peg.html (in German)
https://www.dzif.de/en/novel-antibiotics
https://dnamr.de/ (in German)
For interview requests, please contact Dr Esther Wohlfarth, Paul Ehrlich Society for Infection Therapy (PEG), Main Office, Tel: +49 (0)221/560 925 75
Organisations involved in the appeal:
The Paul Ehrlich Society for Infection Therapy (PEG) is an interdisciplinary scientific medical society dedicated to improving research and teaching in the field of infection therapy. The PEG is a member society of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany. https://p-e-g.org
At the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), more than 700 researchers from 35 institutions across Germany are working together to develop new approaches for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. The aim is so-called translation: the rapid, effective implementation of research findings in clinical practice. The DZIF is thus paving the way for the development of new vaccines, diagnostics and drugs against infections. Further information: www.dzif.de.
The German Network against Antimicrobial Resistance (Deutsches Netzwerk gegen Antimikrobielle Resistenzen, DNAMR) is a non-commercial association of organisations, institutions, companies, legal entities and individuals who are committed to the development of new, resistance-breaking antibiotics. Representatives come from the BEAM Alliance (Biotech companies in Europe combating AntiMicrobial resistance), the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), the Global AMR R&D Hub, the German Society for Infectious Diseases (DGI), the German Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (DGPI), the Paul Ehrlich Society for Infection Therapy (PEG), the German Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Verband Forschender Arzneimittelhersteller e.V., vfa) and the Center for Sepsis Control and Care at Jena University Hospital. The aim of DNAMR is to motivate policymakers to strengthen the entire economic system of research and development of new antibiotics in such a way that ten to fifteen new antibiotics are developed and brought to market in the next 15 years. https://dnamr.de/
Further information including a background paper on the development of antimicrobial resistance and the use of antimicrobial agents can be found in the German language press release of the DZIF.
