Bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR)—which occurs when changes in bacteria cause the drugs used to treat infections to become less effective—has emerged as one of the leading public health threats of the 21st century. The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, commissioned by the UK Government, argued that AMR could kill 10 million people per year by 2050. [read more]

Declining private investment and lack of innovation in the development of new antibiotics are undermining efforts to combat drug-resistant infections, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Two new reports reveal a weak pipeline for antibiotic agents. The 60 products in development (50 antibiotics and 10 biologics) bring little benefit over existing treatments and very few target the most critical resistant bacteria (Gram-negative bacteria). [read more]

Metabolic disrupters, phages, and other approaches are going to be needed to treat the broadest possible range of patients infected by bacterial pathogens resistant to multiple drugs. In 1924 President Coolidge's youngest son developed a blister on a toe playing tennis. The blister became infected with staph, and he died a week later at just 16 years old. Two decades later, penicillin could have saved him, but this drug is now useless against staph because of drug resistance, which has now become a broader crisis in medicine. [read more]

The advent of multidrug resistance among pathogenic bacteria is imperiling the worth of antibiotics, which have previously transformed medical sciences. The crisis of antimicrobial resistance has been ascribed to the misuse of these agents and due to unavailability of newer drugs attributable to exigent regulatory requirements and reduced financial inducements. [read more]

While medical research has helped us overcome many health threats, we now face a new type of crisis: Many dangerous bacteria are becoming resistant to the drugs meant to fight them. Healthcare professionals antibiotics to treat many forms of bacterial infection — from those that are mild to those that are potentially life threatening. For the most part, antibiotics have proved to be a crucial ally in the fight for health, but over the past few years, these drugs have begun to lose their footing in their confrontation with bacteria. [read more]