The Geneva-based International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations has announced the launch of a fund dedicated to supporting the development of innovative antibiotics for use against resistant bacteria and life-threatening infections.

Created in collaboration with the World Health Organization, the European Investment Bank, and Wellcome, the AMR Action Fund will invest in efforts to overcome key technical and funding barriers in late-stage antibiotic development and, in partnership with governments, multilateral organizations, and philanthropy, will work to ensure a sustainable pipeline of new antibiotics. With the goal of bringing two to four new antibiotics to market by 2030, the fund has secured commitments totaling nearly $1 billion from more than twenty global pharmaceutical companies, including Amgen, GSK, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, and Roche.

According to IFPMA, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) kills seven hundred thousand people annually — a number that, in a worst-case scenario, could rise to as many as ten million by 2050. Yet antibiotic-focused biotechs have been exiting the field due to the lack of commercial sustainability, resulting in the loss of valuable expertise and resources. To strengthen the antibiotics pipeline, the fund will invest in smaller biotech companies focused on developing antibacterial treatments that address the highest-priority public health needs; provide technical support to portfolio companies, giving them access to the expertise and resources of large biopharmaceutical companies; and bring together a broad alliance of industry and non-industry stakeholders to ensure a steady, sustainable stream of investment dollars.

"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," said IFPMA director general Thomas Cueni. "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."

"Antibiotics are among the world’s most important medicines — and the spread of drug-resistant infections, which can no longer be effectively treated by existing antibiotics, is of immense concern. As we continue our global struggle against COVID-19, the need for new antibiotics remains no less urgent," said Wellcome director Jeremy Farrar. "This fund will provide a lifeline for antibiotic innovation in the coming years making sure promising products have a more dependable path from early stage discovery to the patients who need them, in all parts of the world."