PM commissions review of antibiotic resistance
No new classes of antibiotics have come onto the market for more than 25 years.
Prime Minister David Cameron is calling for global action to tackle the “very real and worrying threat of antibiotic resistance”. He has commissioned an independent review to examine why so few new drugs have been introduced in recent years.
“If we fail to act,” he said, “we are looking at an almost unthinkable scenario where antibiotics no longer work and we are cast back into the dark ages of medicine where treatable infections and injuries will kill once again... That simply cannot be allowed to happen.”
No new classes of antibiotics have come onto the market for more than 25 years and some 25,000 people in Europe die every year due to antibiotic-resistant infections. The economic burden of drug-resistant infections is not yet fully understood.
The review will be led by the internationally respected economist Jim O'Neill and co-funded and hosted by the Wellcome Trust – the world's second largest medical research foundation.
The trust's director, Dr Jeremy Farrar, said a “global health crisis” is being driven by drug-resistant bacteria, parasites and viruses.
“It threatens not only our ability to treat deadly infections, but almost every aspect of modern medicine,” he added. “We are failing to contain the rise of resistance and failing to develop new drugs to replace those that no longer work. We are heading for a post-antibiotic age.”
Jim O'Neill will work with a team of international experts on the review, which will will set out a plan for encouraging and accelerating the development of new generations of antibiotics.
The Prime Minister wants Britain to lead the way in bringing new drugs to the global market. The team will explore the development, use and regulatory environment of antimicrobials, particularly antibiotics, as well as how to increase international co-operation.
Experts will also come up with a plan for stimulating investment in new antimicrobials.
The BVA has welcomed the news, but called for the review to be extended to animal health. Past president Peter Jones said: “Antibiotics are vital medicines for both human and animal health and we are working hard to safeguard their use for the future, but it is clear that we must also find ways to develop new antibiotics in veterinary medicine.”
Initial findings from the review will be published during 2015 and a final report and recommendations are expected to be released the following year.
Commenting on being asked to undertake the review, Jim O'Neill said: “The emergence of drug-resistant infections and the lack of a sustainable pipeline of antimicrobial drugs are mounting threats to society, and it's clear that international action is needed now if we are to prevent lives being lost unessecarily.
“As someone who has been immersed in how the world may develop, finding ways to stop this problem is a very exciting challenge.”
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
