Toward A New Model For Promoting The Development Of Antimicrobial Drugs

As global health leaders gather in Berlin from May 19–20 for the first-ever G20 Health Ministers’ meeting, one of the main topics of discussion is expected to be how to best fight the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This reflects the growing recognition that AMR poses a significant threat to human health. An influential 2014 report by the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, commonly referred to as the O’Neill Commission, estimated that antimicrobial-resistant infections currently claim 700,000 lives worldwide each year, a figure that could rise to as high as 10 million deaths per year by 2050. Estimates suggest that AMR could reduce world gross domestic product by 2–3 percent per year, imposing trillions of dollars in global economic burden. Proposals to combat AMR are usually built around two pillars. The first is to extend the effective life of the existing stock of antimicrobials with disease prevention and measures to combat overuse. The second is to promote the development of new antimicrobial medications to fight drug-resistant infections. While both are critical to solving the problem of AMR, there are inherent structural barriers that limit the usefulness of traditional incentives for promoting the development and effective stewardship of new antimicrobials. While the O’Neill Commission and others have made specific recommendations about policies to overcome these barriers, each proposed solution comes with its own set of costs and benefits...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Costs and Spending Drugs and Medical Innovation Population Health Antibiotics antimicrobial resistance Food and Drug Administration G20 O'Neill Commission Review on Antimicrobial Resistance Source Type: blogs