Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
Today a conference was opened in Uppsala, Sweden on anti-biotic resistance.
GLOBAL NEED FOR EFFECTIVE ANTIBIOTICS
An EMEA-publication from last year stated:
- each year 25,000 die in Europe from multidrug-resistant bacteria.
- costs at least EUR 1.5 billion each year.
"Big Pharma" is not interested in developing new anti-biotics:
- the aim is to use these as less as possible, no "blockbusters"
- doctors and others tend to use a new medicine freely, so in a few years it doesn't work anymore.
What is needed is a new businessmodel voor the pharmatheutic industry (read: more € and $ from the taxpayers) and strict rules / control for use of antibiotics.
The bacterial challenge: time to react
Executive summary
Main findings:
There is a gap between the burden of infections due to multidrug-resistant bacteria and the development of new
antibiotics to tackle the problem.
• Resistance to antibiotics is high among Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria that cause serious
infections in humans and reaches 25% or more in several EU Member States.
• Resistance is increasing in the EU among certain Gram-negative bacteria such as recently observed for
Escherichia coli.
• Each year, about 25 000 patients die in the EU from an infection with the selected multidrug-resistant
bacteria.
• Infections due to these selected multidrug-resistant bacteria in the EU result in extra healthcare costs and
productivity losses of at least EUR 1.5 billion each year.
• Fifteen systemically administered antibacterial agents with a new mechanism of action or directed against a
new bacterial target were identified as being under development with a potential to meet the challenge of
multidrug resistance. Most of these were in early phases of development and were primarily developed
against bacteria for which treatment options are already available.
• There is a particular lack of new agents with new targets or mechanisms of action against multidrugresistant
Gram-negative bacteria. Two such agents with new or possibly new targets and documented
activity were identified, both in early phases of development.
• A European and global strategy to address this gap is urgently needed.
full report
GLOBAL NEED FOR EFFECTIVE ANTIBIOTICS
An EMEA-publication from last year stated:
- each year 25,000 die in Europe from multidrug-resistant bacteria.
- costs at least EUR 1.5 billion each year.
"Big Pharma" is not interested in developing new anti-biotics:
- the aim is to use these as less as possible, no "blockbusters"
- doctors and others tend to use a new medicine freely, so in a few years it doesn't work anymore.
What is needed is a new businessmodel voor the pharmatheutic industry (read: more € and $ from the taxpayers) and strict rules / control for use of antibiotics.
The bacterial challenge: time to react
Executive summary
Main findings:
There is a gap between the burden of infections due to multidrug-resistant bacteria and the development of new
antibiotics to tackle the problem.
• Resistance to antibiotics is high among Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria that cause serious
infections in humans and reaches 25% or more in several EU Member States.
• Resistance is increasing in the EU among certain Gram-negative bacteria such as recently observed for
Escherichia coli.
• Each year, about 25 000 patients die in the EU from an infection with the selected multidrug-resistant
bacteria.
• Infections due to these selected multidrug-resistant bacteria in the EU result in extra healthcare costs and
productivity losses of at least EUR 1.5 billion each year.
• Fifteen systemically administered antibacterial agents with a new mechanism of action or directed against a
new bacterial target were identified as being under development with a potential to meet the challenge of
multidrug resistance. Most of these were in early phases of development and were primarily developed
against bacteria for which treatment options are already available.
• There is a particular lack of new agents with new targets or mechanisms of action against multidrugresistant
Gram-negative bacteria. Two such agents with new or possibly new targets and documented
activity were identified, both in early phases of development.
• A European and global strategy to address this gap is urgently needed.
full report