A growing group of scientists, opinion leaders and policy makers is calling for a global push to develop new antibiotics.

A recent editorial in The Lancet notes that “prospects for replacing current antimicrobial drugs are poor,” given a dearth of new antibiotic development. However, the issue is gaining new urgency in light of growing bacterial resistance to existing antibiotics.

Only one new antibacterial – doripenem – has been approved in the US since 2006. Meanwhile, an EU report reveals just 15 antibacterial drugs capable of potentially offering a benefit over existing drugs are in the pipeline, and only five of those have reached phase III clinical trials.

“Pharmaceutical companies may not perceive development of antimicrobial drugs to be attractive – owing perhaps to a clinical need restricted to short courses of therapy, and the likelihood that drugs’ useful lives will be truncated by resistance,” says The Lancet.

Either way, the situation is becoming critical. The rise of drug resistance and super bugs such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus – which alone kills 19,000 people in the US each year – means the scarcity of new antibacterial drugs in development is a potential time bomb. A recent joint report issued by the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the European Medicines Agency summed up the extent of the problem, stating that: “in Europe alone multi-resistant bacteria causes some 25,000 deaths every year. Nevertheless, the [research and development] pipeline for new drugs is more or less empty.” The WHO, meanwhile, has labeled antimicrobial resistance as one of the three greatest threats to human health.

Recognition of this urgent need for future antibiotics prompted world leaders – represented by US President Barack Obama and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt – to launch a transatlantic task force, aimed at encouraging research and development of these agents. The taskforce was established at a summit held in November in
Washington, DC, US.

Following this, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) then launched the 10 x ’20 Initiative – a challenge to the US and EU to develop 10 new licensed antimicrobial drugs by the year 2020.

“If we can initiate a global commitment to achieve this significant 10 x ‘20 goal, we’ll take a giant step toward safeguarding the health and well-being of patients worldwide,” said IDSA President Dr. Richard Whitley in a statement. “We offer the unique expertise of IDSA’s members to assist the research and policy communities and urge
the US and EU to establish a specialized ‘antibacterial drug pipeline work group,’ which would be responsible for identifying strategies to motivate antibiotic drug development.”

“The 10 x ’20 Initiative must succeed in creating a stable research infrastructure for antibiotic development, otherwise physicians around the world will be left without the tools they need to effectively treat patients,” said Whitely.

“Though this target seems unrealistic today, it could create much-needed momentum in antimicrobial development,” adds The Lancet, concluding that: “A global strategy is badly needed to enact the 10 x ’20 Initiative and create a stable research infrastructure for antimicrobial development.”