Pipeline of new drugs to fight superbugs is ‘worryingly thin’, experts warn | Pharmaceuticals industry
Experts stated that the stock of new drugs to combat superbugs remains “alarmingly weak” and has shrunk by 35 percent in the last five years, and predicted that the annual number of deaths linked to drug-resistant infections globally will double to 8 million by 2050.
According to a report prepared by the Access to Medicine Foundation (AMF), a non-profit group based in the Netherlands, and the Wellcome Trust, the number of projects by major pharmaceutical companies has decreased by 35% in the last five years, dropping the number of drugs in development from 92 to 60.
“But overall the R&D pipeline remains worryingly weak and industry investment is losing momentum,” said Jayasree K Iyer, CEO of AMF. He described drug resistance as the biggest threat to healthcare worldwide.
More than 1 million people die each year directly from drug-resistant infections, but they contribute to 4 million deaths annually worldwide. Both figures are expected to double to nearly 2 million and over 8 million respectively by 2050.
The report found that GSK in the UK is leading the way in antimicrobial resistance research and development (R&D) with 30 projects and is one of three major pharmaceutical companies that continues to invest in this area.
The other two major players are Japan’s Shionogi and Otsuka, while US drugmaker Pfizer, which partnered with GSK for the first time in 2021, has withdrawn.
AstraZeneca, the UK’s largest pharmaceutical company, was not included in the rankings because it does not have an antibiotic portfolio, as infectious diseases have never been a focus. The report evaluates the efforts of 25 companies, including seven large research-based firms, 10 generic drug manufacturers, and eight smaller drug developers or biotechnology companies.
Iyer said three recently approved antibiotics and other promising drugs in late stages show that “it is possible to turn the fight against superbugs in humanity’s favor.”
In December, the U.S. health regulator approved California biotech company Innoviva’s zoliflodacin (branded Nuzolvence) to treat gonorrhea, as well as GSK’s gepotidacin (sold as Blujepa) for uncomplicated urinary tract infections and urogenital gonorrhea. They were the first antibiotics developed to treat these diseases in decades.
People in low- and middle-income countries hardest hit by infectious diseases are most vulnerable to drug-resistant superbugs. “There is no time to waste,” AMF said.
An alarming increase in common infections resistant to antibiotics has been recorded in hospitals around the world. According to the World Health Organization, one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections were resistant to antibiotic treatments in 2023; Between 2018 and 2023, more than 40% of antibiotics have lost their effectiveness against common blood, intestinal, urinary tract and sexually transmitted infections.
