▎ WuXi AppTec content team editor
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is becoming a huge crisis threatening the future of human health. According to a study published earlier by the World Health Organization (WHO), AMR, as an urgent global health threat, if no action is taken, it is expected that by 2050, super-resistant bacteria will cause 10 million deaths, more than the number of people who die from cancer, and may become the leading cause of disease death worldwide.
However, the current situation that is extremely incompatible is that penicillin, which was discovered by humans 100 years ago, is still widely used in the prevention and treatment of anti-infectious diseases, and penicillin-resistant bacteria are becoming more and more numerous. Clearly, limited antibiotics are no longer able to combat growing bacterial resistance, and the pace of development of existing new drugs has not kept pace with the emergence of resistant bacteria. According to a 2021 WHO report, none of the more than 40 antibiotics in the clinical phase adequately address the resistance of the world's most dangerous bacteria. The industry is in dire need of therapeutic drugs and solutions with innovative mechanisms of action.
Business model innovation is an urgent direction to explore. As we all know, new drug development is a long, complex and high-risk process, usually taking 10 to 15 years, the average cost of research and development of an innovative drug has reached 2.6 billion US dollars, and only a small part of the pipeline can finally be approved for marketing. The same is true of antimicrobial drug development, and it is even more severe. New drug development cycles are long, and bacterial resistance is developing much faster than the former; coupled with the limitations of the return on investment in antibiotic products, it also limits innovation in this field. In other words, the existing model of drug development is not sustainable for antibiotics.
Addressing the AMR issue is imminent and action must be taken immediately. Only a strong pipeline of new antimicrobials can keep up with evolving bacterial resistance, ensuring that there is "ammunition" to deal with the next pandemic or the next superbug. Only with sustainable solutions can we be prepared and prepared for the next crisis. In recent years, addressing the AMR challenge has become a top priority for the WHO.
No single action can fully address global challenges. Global challenges require global solutions. In the face of the AMR dilemma, what progress can we make in 10 years? What solutions will be available in the farther future? At the WuXi AppTec Health Industry Forum 2022 in April, we responded to the World Health Organization's call to respond to the AMR crisis by setting up panel discussions and inviting the most influential institutions and experts in the global antimicrobial ecosystem. They will present wonderful sharing and interpretation of this topic from different perspectives.
Panelists from WHO, Wellcome Trust, CARB-X, AMR Action Fund and Life Sciences Investment Fund, are from WHO, Wellcome Trust, NON-profit CARB-X, AMR Action Fund and Life Sciences Investment Fund, etc. In order to better promote the development of new antibiotics, the WHO has continuously updated the list of resistant bacteria and response guidelines in recent years. CARB-X is an agency supported by government agencies that specifically fund AMR Early Drug Discovery Companies, while the AMR Action Fund focuses more on late-stage development, funding clinical research into new antibiotics and facilitating long-term AMR solutions. The AMR Action Fund was launched by industry associations, more than 20 biomedical companies and investment institutions. The Wellcome Foundation is also a co-funder of the CARB-X and AMR Action Funds.
Dr. Valeria Gigante
Head of the World Health Organization's Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Team
Dr. Valeria Gigante is a clinical pharmacologist, senior regulatory affairs and health policy specialist, currently heading the WHO AMR team. She worked for the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) and joined the WHO in 2017 to harmonize guidelines and guidelines for drug regulation. She holds a PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology and focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
Dr. Timothy Jinks
Head of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Wellcome Foundation
Dr. Timothy Jinks was appointed Head of Infectious Disease Control at the Wellcome Foundation in 2021, leading the Foundation's advance in the development of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, particularly in the design and promotion of the Foundation's work in the important area of antimicrobial resistance. He has gained extensive academic research experience at Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and other institutions. Prior to joining wellcome, he gained more than a decade of industry experience in the field of biological therapeutic research and development, as well as consulting roles in providing business development, licensing and commercial research services.
Dr. Erin Duffy
Head of R&D department of CARB-X
CARB-X is a global, non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating antimicrobial drug research and development in response to the rising threat of AMR around the world. Since its inception in July 2016, CARB-X has invested in nearly 100 innovative projects around the world, including novel antibiotics, vaccines and rapid diagnostic products, to prevent, diagnose and treat life-threatening bacterial infections. Currently, Dr. Erin Duffy is head of research and development at CARB-X. She has over 17 years of experience in drug discovery and problem solving in the field of antibiotics. She began her career in industry at Pfizer and has since worked on antimicrobial or antiviral drugs at two other pharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Henry Skinner
Ceo of The AMR Action Fund
The AMR Action Fund is a non-profit organization investing in antimicrobial therapeutics, established by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations and its biomedical member companies, as well as the WHO, the European Investment Bank and the Wellcome Foundation. The fund plans to invest $1 billion to help bring new antibiotics to market. Dr. Henry Skinner currently serves as CEO of the Foundation. Prior to joining amr Action Fund, he served as Senior Vice President of Venture Fund at Tekla Capital Management. Prior to that, he was Associate Director and Managing Director of Novartis Venture Capital Fund. Earlier, he served as CEO of SelectX Pharmaceuticals and NeoGenesis Pharmaceuticals, and held business development positions at several companies, including Novartis and Pfizer.
Ms Jenny Yip
Managing Partner, Adjuvant Capital
Adjuvant Capital is a life sciences investment fund dedicated to addressing major challenges such as high-burden and neglected infectious diseases, maternal and child health, and reproductive and sexual health. The fund has recently invested in innovative companies such as Curevo Vaccine and Pulmocide that are developing vaccines and antifungal therapies for infectious diseases. Currently, Ms. Jenny Yip is the Managing Partner of Adjust Capital. Prior to that, she was a Partner in strategic investment funds at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she led the foundation's investments in key areas of global health, agriculture, nutrition and education.
Only cooperation and continuous innovation can unleash the unlimited potential of the future. The goal of this AMR symposium is the future, and in the future, we can provide the right drugs to the right patients at the right time. This goal is not just AMR, but also a wider range of other disease areas. WuXi AppTec Health Industry Forum 2022 will also focus on challenges in multiple disease areas with significant needs, such as oncology, cardiovascular and nervous system, and explore sustainable solutions for the future.