Tools to fight AMR exist, but industry-wide action is needed to tilt the battle against superbugs

• The 2026 AMR Benchmark identifies seven innovative, late-stage projects that target some of the deadliest drug-resistant pathogens, however, the development of new antimicrobial products continues to decline. 

• Overall lack of antimicrobial innovation, coupled with access gaps to existing antibiotics, threatens millions of lives – especially children under five who live in low- and middle-income countries. 

• Overall, performance among both large research-based companies and generic medicine manufacturers has declined since the 2021 AMR Benchmark, with newly-assessed biotech firms punching above their weight in research and development.

More than one million people die each year as a direct result of drug-resistant infections, a number that is expected to nearly double by 2050. While the outlook is dire, AMR is not an insurmountable challenge. With decisive action by pharmaceutical companies – the developers and distributors of antimicrobial drugs – AMR can be mitigated.

Five years since the release of the 2021 AMR Benchmark, this new iteration evaluates the efforts of 25 pharmaceutical companies, comprised of seven large research-based companies (LRBs), ten generic medicine manufacturers (GMMs) and eight small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).* Findings highlight numerous strong examples – spanning strategies, products, and geographies – of real-world actions companies are taking to curb drug resistance. However, more comprehensive action is needed across the board.

Thin pipeline, high stakes 

The current lack of infectious disease research and development (R&D) is one of the biggest challenges in the battle against AMR. The inclusion of eight SMEs in the 2026 AMR Benchmark reflects these players’ immense importance in holding the line while LRBs continue to retreat from the AMR space. This makes the efforts of companies still engaged in this space that much more vital.

While the Benchmark does find a 35% decline in the antimicrobial pipelines of LRBs it also identifies seven late-stage projects that exhibit genuine innovation with potential to overcome resistance. These products originate from both LRBs (GSK, Otsuka, Shionogi) and SMEs (BioVersys, F2G, Innoviva, Venatorx) – and have the potential to tip the scales for millions.

To turn the tide against superbugs, the pipeline must start catching up with growing resistance. Given the high cost of bringing new products to market, addressing the rate of innovation requires a more holistic approach. Governments and policymakers play a crucial role in shaping sustainable markets to support continued industry innovation and investment – without which, global efforts to curb resistance cannot succeed.

Better access to existing drugs – especially child-friendly versions – is vital

For children, who are more vulnerable to infections, the thin R&D pipeline is compounded by the fact that child-friendly formulations of any new drugs can take years to be approved. At the same time, the availability of existing antibiotics in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is often woefully inadequate, especially when it comes to products for children.

Among companies with paediatric formulations on the market, five – Aurobindo, GSK, Hikma, Sandoz and Teva – stand out by registering their paediatric formulations, on average, in around 50-70% of the LMICs where they register their other off-patent antimicrobials. Despite this, gaps in access are prominent in 17 sub-Saharan African countries,** where no child-friendly versions of any of these products have been registered by any of the companies assessed by the Benchmark.

Notably, more companies are taking ownership, for example, in mitigating the risk of AMR from manufacturing across their supply chains. For the first time, the AMR Benchmark assessed the approaches used by GMMs to track and monitor patient reach – with six of the ten GMMs assessed doing this across almost all their antibiotic and antifungal products analysed.

Overall, however, the industry-wide performance across LRBs and GMMs has declined since 2021. And antimicrobial R&D remains worryingly sparse, with GSK, Otsuka and Shionogi among the only big players still investing in innovative projects. Collectively, the eight SMEs assessed account for almost a quarter of all pipeline projects, but their impact is limited by limited access to capital and a lack of global reach. 

What’s in the 2026 AMR Benchmark? 

• Key Findings: Four essential takeaways from the Benchmark. 

• Industry Trends: Trends that can be observed across the industry. 

• Best Practices: Specific examples of what companies are doing right and precedents they set for others to follow. 

• Thematic Analyses and Cross-cutting Insights: A closer look at key themes in company behaviour and extended findings that define the road ahead. (Download full report and navigate to 'Benchmark in Focus.')

• Company Report Cards: Detailed overviews of each assessed company’s performance. 

What’s next?

AMR demands coordinated action across sectors; no single stakeholder, including pharmaceutical companies, can tackle it alone. Nevertheless, companies have a responsibility to contribute to addressing AMR within their sphere of influence, with opportunities to already take stronger, more targeted action at various stages of the pharmaceutical value chain.

By revealing where companies perform strongly and where progress needs to be accelerated, the Benchmark helps clarify the path to ensuring the sustainable development, supply and appropriate use of antibiotics for the benefit of the entire world. The challenge now is to urgently develop and apply approaches across more products and across more countries to mimimise this global threat and save lives.   

^{*Nine SMEs were originally part of the company scope for the 2026 AMR Benchmark Methodology. However, in January 2026, Pulmocide announced the termination of its Phase II trial for opelconazole. This was the company’s sole pipeline project analysed, leading to Pulmocide’s removal from the 2026 AMR Benchmark Report. As such, eight SMEs are included in the final assessment.} 

^{**It is important to note that this registration data is based only on the seven pharmaceutical companies and ten generic producers assessed in the 2026 AMR Benchmark. It is possible that other companies register paediatric formulations in sub-Saharan Africa.}