Bringing 2 to 4 Antibiotics for AMR to Market by 2030

Over 20 biopharmaceutical companies have joined together to launch an initiative to develop 2-4 antibiotics in 10 years for antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

To aid with the research and development, the companies announced the launch of the AMR Action Fund, and that they raised nearly $1 billion thus far.

The AMR Action Fund, an initiative of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA), an international body representing the R&D pharmaceutical industry, was announced at simultaneous virtual launch events in Berlin and Washington, DC on Thursday with a third event in Tokyo scheduled for today.

The AMR Action Fund expects to invest its current funding as well as future support from partners to address the funding gap for the financing of antibiotic development.

“With the AMR Action Fund, the pharmaceutical industry is investing nearly $1 billion to sustain an antibiotic pipeline that is on the verge of collapse, a potentially devastating situation that could affect millions of people around the world,” Chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company and President of IFPMA David Ricks said.

“The AMR Action Fund is one of the largest and most ambitious collaborative initiatives ever undertaken by the pharmaceutical industry to respond to a global public health threat,” Director General of the IFPMA Thomas Cueni stated.

The fund was developed by the IFPMA, the Biopharmaceutical CEOs Roundtable, and biopharmaceutical companies and foundations, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, The European Investment Bank, and the Wellcome Trust.

The fund organizers have discussed how they will invest in AMR research, and those initiatives include:

• Invest in smaller biotech companies focused on developing innovative antibacterial treatments that address the highest priority public health needs, make a significant difference in clinical practice, and save lives.
• Provide technical support to portfolio companies, giving them access to the deep expertise and resources of large biopharmaceutical companies, to strengthen antibiotic development, and support access and appropriate use of antibiotics.
• Bring together a broad alliance of industry and non-industry stakeholders, including philanthropies, development banks, and multilateral organizations, and help encourage governments to create market conditions that enable sustainable investment in the antibiotic pipeline.

“Unlike COVID-19, AMR is a predictable and preventable crisis. We must act together to rebuild the pipeline and ensure that the most promising and innovative antibiotics make it from the lab to patients,” Cueni stated.

Biopharmaceutical companies and foundations supporting the fund include: Almirall, Amgen, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chugai, Daiichi Sankyo, Eisai, Eli Lilly and Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, LEO Pharma, Lundbeck, Menarini, Merck, MSD, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Pfizer, Roche, Shionogi, Takeda, Teva, and UCB.

The fund is expected to be operational during the fourth quarter of 2020.