New public-private transatlantic body aims to boost research into antibiotic resistance

In a bid to combat the global threat of antibiotic resistance, on July 28 the US and the UK formed a new partnership that is dedicated to accelerating global antibacterial innovation. Carb-X, as the association is known, or the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator in full, comprises both public bodies and private firms that plan to invest millions into research and development over the course of the next five years.

According to the organisation’s website, BARDA, a unit of the US Department of Health and Human Services, will plough $30m into R&D within the first year alone, and up to $250m in the subsequent four.

Likewise, the AMR Centre, a British R&D facility for biomedical research, will invest around $100m during the five-year project. Other partners include London’s Wellcome Trust, Boston University, the California Life Sciences Institute, RTI International, the Broad Institute and Massachusetts-based innovation centre MassBio, with more expected to join.

The transatlantic association will carry out preclinical development for new antibiotic treatments and vaccines

The transatlantic association will carry out preclinical development for new antibiotic treatments and vaccines, as well as diagnostic tools, with the aim that the subsequent work needed will be pushed further by additional investment from both private and public sectors. Given the breadth of technical, scientific and business expertise of the various partners involved, Carb-X hopes to overcome current obstacles in terms of research and trials, while also navigating complex regulatory framework and approval.

Resist no more
According to the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), around 700,000 people worldwide die each year as a result of bacterial drug resistance. “If not tackled, by 2050 drug-resistant infections could be claiming 10 million lives each year around the world, at a cumulative cost to global output of $100trn”, said AMR Chairman Lord Jim O’Neill, in a previous interview with The New Economy.

Speaking about the project, Wellcome Director Jeremy Farrar said: “I hope our new transatlantic partnership marks the beginning of a wider global effort to prevent untreatable bacterial infections from claiming millions of lives”, according to the Financial Times.

With so many big players on the case, it would seem that the frightening pandemic of antibiotic resistance is finally starting to receive the attention and funding it desperately needs.

For a closer look at the global threat of antibiotic resistance, see The New Economy’s in-depth report on the topic.