Report highlights lack of access to antibiotics in poor countries

CIDRAP news reporter Chris Dall outlines the findings of the 2021 AMR Benchmark, writing: "A new analysis of how the major players in the antibiotic market are responding to the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threat suggests that interest in antibiotic research and development is growing and that companies are making greater efforts to curb the environmental impact of antibiotic manufacturing.

"But efforts to make antibiotics more accessible to people in the countries where they are desperately needed are lagging."

Benchmark co-author and research program manager Fatema Rafiqi, who leads the AMR Benchmark team at the Access to Medicine Foundation, spoke at an online event where she launched the new Benchmark report.

"This report gives a reality check on how the biggest players in the anti-infectives market are responding to the drug resistance and access challenges we face," she is quoted as saying. "While there are bright spots of progress…the pace of change still has yet to match the scale of the AMR challenge."

Click to read the full article on the CIDRAP website.