Recent coverage of the pipeline of new antibiotics (Pipeline of new drugs to fight superbugs is ‘worryingly thin’, experts warn, 11 March) is a timely reminder that antimicrobial resistance is one our most urgent health crises. The reason the pipeline is so thin is a fundamental market failure.
One of the most logical ways to protect antibiotics is to limit their use to the most essential cases, but this means fewer antibiotics sold. If revenues are limited, companies have less incentive to invest in developing and manufacturing new antibiotics. This is where policy intervention is crucial.
The UK is a pioneer in this field, with the NHS-Nice “Netflix subscription model” for antibiotics, where firms receive a fixed annual payment for access to an effective new antibiotic, independent of how much is used. By delinking revenue from volume, responsible antibiotic use and sustainable returns for manufacturers are aligned. But this isn’t enough to address the issue at scale.
Our research has shown that coordinated G7 investment in incentivising the development of new antibiotics would deliver exceptional returns. In the UK alone, the returns would be 11:1 over 30 years, and in the US, it is as high as 28:1. Globally, this amounts to millions of lives saved. The cost of inaction vastly outweighs the investment.
The evidence is clear, but we need to act now. We can’t rely on companies alone to solve what should be an international political and societal priority.
Grace Hampson
Director, Office of Health Economics
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