Measuring industry’s response to AMR crisis: methodology for next Benchmark out now

In the competition between humankind and microbes, the response of pharmaceutical companies is critical. The latest framework for action from the Access to Medicines Foundation sets out the path ahead to measure manufacturers’ response to the growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis, using a framework of 19 indicators.

The rise of treatment-resistant bacterial and fungal diseases poses a direct threat to much of modern medicine where tackling infection is taken for granted, from abdominal surgery to cancer chemotherapy., The danger has been exacerbated in recent years by the excessive use of antibiotics in both human and animal health, as well as cutbacks in drug research. The pharmaceutical industry's response to the AMR challenge to date has been uneven and there is an urgent need to marshal resources efficiently and to motivate more companies to step up, given the fact that many firms are pulling out of antibiotics due to poor financial returns.

“We need an effective Benchmark because there’s still much work to do in combating AMR, and without tracking progress and sharing lessons there is no guarantee that we will ever reach the global goals," 

said Jayasree Iyer, executive director of the Access to Medicines Foundation.

The Foundation's Antimicrobial Resistance Benchmark is the first and only independent measure of how pharmaceutical companies are taking action to limit AMR, and the Benchmark research programme will lead to the publication of a second report in early 2020. This will highlight where progress is being made, where critical action is still required and which companies are taking the lead.

The report will evaluate 30 pharmaceutical companies involved in developing and supplying antibiotics and antifungal drugs, ranging from large branded and generic medicine manufacturers to smaller firms with promising compounds in clinical development.

As in the first report, published last year, the latest updated methodology focuses on three key fields – research and development; responsible manufacturing; and appropriate access and stewardship.

 “These three areas are absolutely critical for addressing AMR and unless the pharmaceutical industry gets them right, we won’t be able to meet this challenge,” said Iyer.

 Although there are more experimental antibiotics in the early-stage pipeline than a few years ago, the tally is still down on the 1980s and 1990s. At the same time, more work is needed to curb the overuse of existing medicines, while wastewater from antibiotic factories can too often help the spread of drug resistance.

The latest AMR metrics framework has been revised in certain areas, following consultations with experts from multilateral organisations, governments, academic research institutions, non-governmental organisations, policy research centres and drug companies.

In particular, the focus this time is solely on medicines and vaccines for bacterial and fungal infections, as this is where most attention is critically needed. That is in contrast to the first framework, which also covered viruses (HIV/AIDS), protozoa (malaria) and helminths (worms). The second Benchmark will also look for different behaviours depending on whether products are still on-patent or are available as generics. 

The list of companies evaluated has been amended slightly, with eight new firms entering the benchmark, reflecting changes in the industry landscape.

The 19 indicators across the three key focus areas cover a wide range of measures, including R&D investment and pipeline quality, environmental risk management and drug promotion practices.

Overall, the Benchmark will include metrics for eight large research-based pharmaceutical companies, nine generic medicine manufacturers, and 13 small and medium-sized enterprises. It will look at medicines and vaccines in development, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), marketed antibiotics and antifungals, and established treatments on the World Health Organization's 2017 Model List of Essential Medicines.

Measurements of accessibility will focus on 102 countries where improved access to healthcare is deemed necessary.   

 The AMR Benchmark is funded by the UK Department for International Development and the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

We will add a mini line about where we are in the data-collection process and look ahead to the publication date.