Few new antibiotics for children, report warns

The article highlights the report’s finding that there has been a significant reduction in antimicrobial projects over the last five years. Putting emphasis on the fact that children in low- and middle-income countries are particularly vulnerable, it cites that only 14% of medicines under development by the companies assessed are for those under age five – a key takeaway from the report.

It also notes that while large companies such as GSK plan to introduce new medications in coming years, their accessibility and affordability in lower-income regions may fall short.

The article references Martijn Van Gerven, Research Programme Manager for the Access to Medicine Foundation’s AMR Programme, who told SciDev.Net that external incentives for companies can help ensure that medicines will be made more widely available and compensate for the lack of profitability associated with AMR projects.

It mentions that while most companies analysed in the report do have plans to make their products accessible in underserved regions, the problem is the lack of specificity within those plans, says Claudia Martínez, Director of Research at the Foundation, who is quoted: “What we want to see is not a huge lag between registration and availability.”

The report also covers the importance of local manufacturing, technology transfers and prioritising affordability when planning for access – all key themes from the report.