A lifeline for antibiotic development
The industry-led AMR Action Fund is a major step forward in tackling the spread of drug-resistant infections. Jeremy Knox explains why governments too need to do more to stimulate antibiotic development.
Drug-resistant infections: transforming the global response
Our vision is a world in which escalating infectious diseases are under control in the communities most affected, and nobody is endangered by drug-resistant infections. We want to transform the world's approach towards stemming the rise and spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Why this is important
Drug-resistant infections kill hundreds of thousands of people every year, in all parts of the world. This burden is disproportionately higher in low- and middle-income countries.
If we act now, we can turn the tide on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), save millions of lives and safeguard the medical progress of the past hundred years for future generations. If we don’t, then routine medical procedures and operations will become dangerous or stop being effective, common infections will become untreatable, and many lives will be lost.
Stories of drug-resistant infections
- Surviving a car accident aged 25 was just the start of Vanessa’s journey(opens in a new tab). A drug-resistant infection following multiple surgeries inspired her campaigning in South Africa and beyond.
- As a doctor in Cambodia, Miliya(opens in a new tab) lost many patients to drug-resistant infections. He’s now leading antibiotic stewardship initiatives in his hospital to prevent the rise of infections.
- Greg needed antibiotics(opens in a new tab) for three years following a post-surgery infection. Motivated by his experience, he started a PhD to study how drug resistance spreads.
What we want to achieve
Through our work, we want to:
- catalyse the development and uptake of key interventions like new antibiotics, improved diagnostic tools and better data to prevent, treat and control drug-resistant infections
- work for the communities most affected by this threat. While global efforts to tackle drug resistance remain crucial, it’s more important than ever to make sure that countries, particularly low- and middle-income ones, are able to respond effectively at a national level.
- make sure new antibiotics and diagnostic tools are available in low-resource settings, and the countries that stand to benefit the most from tackling AMR have the necessary data to implement country-specific, country-led and country-owned interventions.
Requests for proposal
Landscape report on early antibiotic development
To strengthen the antibiotic discovery pipeline, we want to support researchers in academia and SMEs to access relevant training, expertise and resources at the early stages of translation and product development, and raise funding for R&D. We are looking for organisations with knowledge of the field and experience in conducting landscape reviews to produce a report to inform our work in this space.
The deadline for expressions of interest is 17.00 GMT, on 16 December 2020. Selected partners will be asked to submit a full proposal by 20 January 2021.
Find more details about this project and how to submit an expression of interest: Request for proposal for landscape report: early antibiotic development [PDF 302KB].
The areas we're focusing on
We’re working to achieve three key objectives. Building a strengthened evidence base underpins each of these.
Objective 1: Advancing a sustainable pipeline of antibiotics, so that new antibiotics are available around the world
The problem
The development of new therapeutics, particularly antibiotics, is crucial to mitigate the effects of antimicrobial resistance. But the environment for developing antibiotics is challenging, with market failures inhibiting private sector development of these essential drugs.
What we have done so far
To improve the pipeline of antibiotics, we have:
- funded CARB-X(opens in a new tab), a public-private partnership dedicated to accelerating antibacterial research. The partnership aims to fill the current shortage of investment by providing up to $500 million over the next five years.
- supported the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership(opens in a new tab) which is working to develop and deliver new or improved antibiotic treatments. The first trials are for new treatments for neonatal sepsis and gonorrhoea.
- led policy discussions about how governments and industry can work together to sustainably increase antibiotic discovery and development; we also contributed to discussions in forums like the G20 and the Global AMR R&D Hub, and supported the exploration of new, fairer ways to pay for antibiotics in countries like the UK and the US.
Next, we want to catalyse the development and update of key tools like new antibiotics, interventions to enable the appropriate use of antibiotics, and better data to prevent, treat and control drug-resistant infections.
CARB-X aims to protect people from the most serious bacterial threats by accelerating antibacterial product development.
Objective 2: Encouraging appropriate use of antibiotics, so that drug resistance slows down
The problem
Access to antibiotics remains an issue in many countries, where it is often a greater concern than drug-resistant infections. Meanwhile, antimicrobial treatments are frequently misused – taken for infections or conditions that cannot be treated with antimicrobials, in improper dosage, or for the wrong treatment duration.
This behaviour leads to a rise in antimicrobial resistance. Diagnostics can help to guide appropriate use of antibiotics and, at the same time, improve patient outcomes, facilitate development of new drugs, and enhance the surveillance of AMR. But not enough new diagnostic products are in development, due to market failures and other barriers.
What we have done so far
To improve the development and use of diagnostics, and build evidence around how to make better use of existing antibiotics, we have:
- supported Value-Dx(opens in a new tab), a consortium including Wellcome and industry that aims to understand, demonstrate, and quantify the value of diagnostics and the obstacles to their adoption and use
- supported a project of the World Health Organization (WHO) to map the landscape of in vitro diagnostics for AMR and develop an understanding of what’s needed for high-priority diagnostics
- supported the development of a research roadmap to build understanding of how to use antibiotics most effectively
- supported the WHO expert group on behaviour change and AMR to determine how key behaviour change methodologies and insights could support implementation of WHO products for antimicrobial resistance.
Objective 3: Mobilising national action on drug-resistant infections, so that countries can effectively respond at a national level
The problem
Drug resistance will only be effectively managed if everyone acts to reduce it – that’s why national measures are so important. By now, all countries have set National Action Plans, but these still need to be implemented.
Until recently, we have worked on advancing global governance structures. Next, we plan to redirect our efforts from top-down global mobilisation to strengthening national responses.
What we have done so far
Following the 2016 UN resolution to tackle drug-resistant infections, we have:
- co-hosted a Call to Action in Ghana in 2018; this followed our 2017 event which brought together more than 200 participants from around the world and generated more than 100 commitments to act on drug resistance.
- worked with the WHO to support the work of the Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance(opens in a new tab), an ad-hoc group of global organisations and experts tasked with delivering a report and recommendations to the UN Secretary General
- co-founded the Global Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) R&D Hub to act as the global knowledge centre about solutions for AMR, including the discovery and development of urgently needed antimicrobial drugs
- brought together experts to focus on the impact of antimicrobial resistance on the environment [PDF 317KB].
Follow us on Twitter
For the latest news and views on all aspects of antimicrobial resistance, follow us on Twitter @Wellcome_AMR(opens in a new tab)
Building the evidence base
We have strengthened the evidence base underpinning these objectives by:
- launching the Surveillance and Epidemiology of Drug-resistant Infections Consortium (SEDRIC)(opens in a new tab), an international think-tank which supports the improvement of surveillance systems for resistant infections. Since 2018, SEDRIC has published recommendations on barriers to capturing and sharing data on antimicrobial resistance and developed an interactive tool to map research projects.
- looking at how existing data on antimicrobial resistance can be used more effectively by:
- working with partners to integrate the mapping of the burden of antimicrobial resistance into the Global Burden of Disease Index
- launching a pilot project to create an open data sharing platform, the AMR Register(opens in a new tab), to make better use of antibiotic surveillance data by the pharmaceutical industry
- launching the Wellcome Data Re-use Prize(opens in a new tab) to develop new tools to map the spread and impact of drug-resistant infections
- analysing the impact of antimicrobial resistance legislation and policies. For example, we looked at how the ban on antimicrobials in animal production in California has affected antimicrobial resistance and human health.
Related news
Race for new antibiotics: future success is hanging by a thread
Developing new antibiotics is one way of tackling the growing threat of drug-resistant infections. Tim Jinks explains why it's critical to step up investment in antibiotic development.
Why is it so hard to develop new antibiotics?
Discovering and then bringing new antibiotics to market is a formidable challenge – but one we need to solve if we want to be better protected against the growing threat of drug-resistant infections. Here’s why, and what has to happen to develop new medicines.
More news
Read more articles on drug-resistant infections
Reports and consultations
A discussion paper by Wellcome about the challenges in antibiotic research and development.
Reframing Resistance. How to communicate about antimicrobial resistance effectively
Wellcome's report and practical toolkit aims to guide experts, communicators and practitioners to communicate with impact, so that the public understands and supports action on drug-resistant infections.
Following the report of the Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance(opens in a new tab) to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organisation for Animal Health and the World Health Organization have been working on setting up an Independent Panel for Evidence on Action Against AMR. They issued draft Terms of Reference(opens in a new tab) for the panel in an open consultation which Wellcome responded to.
The Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued the draft notification Environment Protection Amendment Rules 2020(opens in a new tab), setting out proposed national standards for levels of antimicrobials released in pharmaceutical manufacturing effluent. Wellcome responded to the open consultation on this notification.
We respond to the Open Consultation on Proposals Received for the 2020 Comprehensive Review of the Global Indicator Framework, specifically in relation to inclusion of an antimicrobial resistance-specific indicator within the Sustainable Development Goals.
Call to Action on Antimicrobial Resistance 2018 Report [PDF 1.4MB]
Key outcomes from the second Call to Action on Antimicrobial Resistance held in Ghana, co-hosted by the Governments of Ghana, Thailand and the UK, along with the World Bank, UN Foundation and Wellcome.
The Ghana Declaration, Call to Action on Antimicrobial Resistance [PDF 927KB]
The Ghana Declaration signed by the co-hosts of the Call to Action on Antimicrobial Resistance, together with civil society leaders, heads of private sector companies and the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organisation for Animal Health.
Wellcome response to IACG draft recommendations [PDF 598KB]
We respond to the draft recommendations of the Ad hoc Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance.
Addressing antimicrobial resistance in the environment [PDF 1.9MB]
This scientific white paper looks at the evidence about how antimicrobial resistance in the environment is impacting human health, and at how the risks can be addressed.
It summarises discussions from the International Environmental AMR forum, held in April 2018. Read the executive summary [PDF 638KB] for the key messages.
CARB-X annual reports(opens in a new tab)
The progress CARB-X has made towards accelerating antibacterial research since it was established in 2016.
Vaccines for antimicrobial resistance(opens in a new tab)
This report, commissioned by Wellcome and produced by Boston Consulting Group, looks at the opportunities and challenges around developing vaccines to combat antimicrobial resistance.
Antimicrobial resistance inquiry [PDF 89KB]
The evidence we submitted to the Health and Social Care Committee Antimicrobial resistance inquiry.
Antimicrobial resistance surveillance: sharing industry data [PDF 1.1MB]
Recommendations from a pilot project to openly publish human antimicrobial resistance surveillance data generated and collected by the pharmaceutical industry. The project was led by the Open Data Institute and funded by Wellcome.
Call to Action on Antimicrobial Resistance [PDF 1.9MB]
The key outcomes from the Call to Action on Antimicrobial Resistance event, organised by Wellcome in partnership with the UK, Ghanaian and Thai governments and the UN Foundation.
The event focused on the critical gaps in tackling the spread of drug-resistant infections and sought commitments to concerted and tangible actions.
SEDRIC, one year on [PDF 371KB]
A reflection on the activities and accomplishments of the Surveillance and Epidemiology of Drug-Resistant Infections Consortium (SEDRIC) in its first year, and plans for the next 12 months.
More reports
See all of our reports on drug-resistant infections.
Contact us
To contact someone in the team, email drugresistantinfections@wellcome.org.
See who's who in the drug-resistant infections team and the strategic advisory board.
