More people die from antimicrobial resistance (AMR) than from HIV and malaria, but too few new antimicrobials are under development. Last week, UCLA partnered with BIO, Turn Therapeutics, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America for a panel discussion on the problem and possible solutions.
“AMR is not just hospital-acquired,” said UCLA’s Tara Vijayan, M.D. Worldwide, a wide variety of infections are increasingly becoming resistant to antimicrobials.
“Over taking antibiotics” is a problem, said Jomana Musmar, MS, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Presidential Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB), who moderated the panel. But fixing the antimicrobial market is a key piece of the puzzle.
The market challenges: 95% of innovators developing new antimicrobials are small biotechs and 50% “have no products on the market” (yet), explained Emily Wheeler, BIO’s Director of Infectious Disease Policy.
It’s “a really bad business case,” she said. “We want these innovative products to come to the market and to be available for patients. However, we only want them to be used when they are necessary for the patient.”
A possible solution: The PASTEUR Act, which “would create a model that is not tied to volume, but instead is a subscription model,” would support antimicrobial R&D by providing “a predictable return for the company to continue to invest back into their research and development cycle,” said Wheeler.
The outlook: “We have a lot to do and a long way to go. But with legislative efforts like [the PASTEUR Act], I’m confident Congress will continue to find new ways to address AMR and fund new research and technologies,” said PASTEUR Act co-lead Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) at the conclusion of the event.
Read more on Bio.News.
Listen: Bradley Burnam, founder and CEO of Turn Therapeutics, recently joined the I am BIO Podcast to discuss his experience with a drug-resistant infection and how it led him to start his biotech company—learn more.
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