The silent pandemic
AMR has been widely recognized as the top priority health threat by the World Health Organization (WHO), the G7 and G20. AMR has resulted in the majority of our antimicrobial therapies becoming obsolete thereby leaving the world’s population completely susceptible to the ever-increasing range of infections. The grim possibility of a bacterial pandemic is already widely recognised as an imminent threat. The Financial Times has published a series of excellent articles and a short video illustrating the AMR pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has in particular spotlighted that mankind is vulnerable to infectious diseases. Worldwide ≥700’000 lives are lost every year to AMR, this is predicted to rise to 10 million by 2050. In Europe ~4 million hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) occur annually, and AMR is responsible for an estimated 33’000 deaths/year, with EUR 1.5 billion in healthcare costs and productivity losses/year. Resistant infections threaten the advancements of the last +50 years of modern medicine, where patients undergoing surgery, treatments for cancer, or viral infections (COVID-19) are put in jeopardy of contracting an untreatable bacterial infection because appropriate working antibiotics are no longer available.
The WHO states that: "A post-antibiotic era - in which common infections and minor injuries can kill - far from being an apocalyptic fantasy, is instead a very real possibility for the 21st century."
Data shows infection prevention and control is saving lives, especially in hospitals – but AMR threatens to undermine this progress without continued aggressive action now. However, the antibacterial pipeline is dangerously thin with only forty-three (43) antibiotics currently (2020) in development and only about 1 in 4 drugs in the pipeline represents a novel drug class or novel mechanism of action. Essentially bacteria are evolving faster than the antibiotic pipeline. Find more here
AMR was at the top of the agenda for the G20 Health Ministers’ meeting in Berlin 19th – 20th May 2017 and although the EU has joined the fight against antimicrobial resistance, according to a recent report (2019) from the European Court of Auditors (ECA) – there have been “no breakthroughs in the development of new anti-microbials” and the “EU fight against superbugs brought little process” See the video clip
BioVersys is developing a diverse pipeline of promising new mode of action compounds that address unmet medical needs of priority pathogens targeting Gram-negative, Gram-positive and Tuberculosis bacteria. Our innovative development therapies have the potential to become 1st in class or best in class. We are currently conducting clinical trials in humans, having already demonstrated proof-of-concept and safety in animals.
Track the development of antibiotics in clinical development: click to PEW
Test your own Superbug IQ: click to PEW
The silent pandemic...
The annual global impact of Anti-Microbial Resistance on people is huge
die each year from drug resistant infections
annual deaths by 2050 if no action taken
annual financial loss in US & EU due to hospital infections