2019 Methodology for the 2020 Antimicrobial Resistance Benchmark

Bacteria and other pathogens are becoming resistant to antimicrobials, making it increasingly difficult to treat infections. A global effort to slow AMR is gathering pace, and the role for pharmaceutical companies is clear: to develop new medicines to replace ones that no longer work, and find new ways to ensure antibiotics are produced and promoted responsibly, i.e., through ‘stewardship’.

To evaluate progress toward this goal, the 2020 Benchmark will use a framework of 19 indicators organised into three Research Areas: Research & Development, Responsible Manufacturing and Appropriate Access & Stewardship. Access metrics will capture companies’ activities in 102 mainly low- and middle-income countries where people have a particularly acute need for greater access to medicine.

The companies in scope include some of the largest in the global antibacterials market as well as companies with important clinical-stage pipelines. Three types of companies are in scope: large R&D-based pharmaceutical companies, generic medicine manufacturers and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companies. To track key companies with important antibacterial and antifungal assets, and considering the most recent market intelligence data, eight companies are newly in scope for the 2020 AMR Benchmark.

The 2020 AMR Benchmark will focus on how companies are limiting resistance in bacteria and fungi, particularly priority pathogens.   

The Foundation will now begin the process of data collection, verification, scoring and analysis, before publishing the next Antimicrobial Resistance Benchmark early in 2020.