Pipeline of new drugs to fight superbugs is ‘worryingly thin’, experts warn

The article prominently highlights one of the report’s key findings – the 35% decrease in antimicrobial pipeline projects made by large, research-based companies since the previous Benchmark was published in 2021.

Jayasree K. Iyer, CEO of the Access to Medicine Foundation is quoted in the article saying that “the R&D pipeline remains worryingly thin, and industry investment has lost momentum.”

The article notes that without intervention, the annual number of deaths linked to drug-resistant infections globally will increase to 8 million by 2050, adding that hospitals across the world have already recorded alarming rises in common infections in recent years.

The article also highlights bright spots from the report, namely GSK’s strong pipeline of 30 projects, but notes that it is one of just three big pharma companies that continue to invest in AMR.

It also notes two recently-approved projects covered in the report – namely Innoviva’s zoliflodacin (Nuzolvence) to treat gonorrhea, as well as GSK’s gepotidacin (Blujepa) for uncomplicated urinary tract infections and urogenital gonorrhea – which are the first projects developed to treat these diseases in decades.