EFPIA contributes to IMI €223, 7 million programme to tackle antibiotic resistance
24.05.12
“Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest health challenges we face. It puts lives at risk and severely disrupts hospital services. The research from this initiative will result in much-needed new antimicrobials and improve our arsenal in the fight against dangerous superbugs.”
Richard Bergström, Director-General of EFPIA said:
“Our researchers and the scientific community have realised that we can only deal with this urgent threat by working together and pooling our knowledge. IMI is perfectly suited for such open innovation. And by co-funding clinical trials, policy makers in Europe have created a strong incentive for companies and investors to come back to this field of research.”
Michel Goldman, IMI’s Executive Director commented:
“This is a historic opportunity for Europe to overcome a public health problem which threatens millions of lives worldwide. For researchers in universities, hospitals and small and medium-sized enterprises it is also a unique opportunity to speed up their research in the area of antimicrobial resistance, as the collaboration will give them access to the knowledge and expertise of the pharmaceutical industry.”
Watch the video below of Sir Andrew Witty, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline and EFPIA President, explaining how the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) brings academic researchers and industrial researchers together to speed up research in Europe.
Facts and Figures on Antimicrobial Resistance
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global public health threat and a problem both in humans and in animals. Resistance can also spread from animals to humans through the food chain or direct contact. Worldwide methicillin-resistance Staphylococcus aureus (MSRA) is a major threat.
In Europe 25,000 deaths were reported in 2007 as a result of AMR. This clinical burden is associated with soaring treatment and societal costs with the cost of AMR being estimated at around €1,5 billion per year in Europe (see ECDC/EMEA joint technical report “The bacterial challenge: time to react”, 2009).
Despite the recognized need for new antimicrobials for clinical use, the reality is that only two new classes of antibiotics have been brought to market in the last 30 years and many drug developers have left the field.
Key barriers to the development and delivery of effective antibiotics are:
- Discovery and development of novel antibacterial agents is scientifically challenging;
- Substantial regulatory challenges to the introduction of novel antibacterial agents;
- Low return on investment relative to other medicines making it an unattractive area for drug developers therefore limiting the future antibiotic pipeline.
For further details on the IMI programme to tackle antimicrobial resistance, click here.
