Protect humanity from tuberculosis
The WHO report confirms that not enough antibiotics are being developed in the world
Report "Antimicrobials under clinical development – an analytical study of the process of clinical development of antimicrobials, including anti-tuberculosis drugs", issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), indicates a serious shortage of new antibiotics under development to combat the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance.
Most of the drugs currently under clinical development are modifications of existing classes of antibiotics and only a temporary solution. The report notes that only a few potential drugs are intended to treat antibiotic-resistant infections, which, according to WHO, pose the greatest threat to health, including drug-resistant tuberculosis, from which about 250,000 people die annually.
"Antimicrobial resistance is a global health emergency that poses a serious threat to progress in modern medicine," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director–General. "There is an urgent need to expand investments in research and development of drugs against antibiotic-resistant infections, including TB, otherwise we will again find ourselves in a time when people were afraid of common infections and risked their lives during simple surgical operations."
In addition to multidrug–resistant tuberculosis, WHO has identified 12 classes of priority pathogens – some of them cause common infections such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections - that are becoming increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics and new medicines are urgently needed to combat them.
The report indicates that 51 new antibiotics and biological drugs are currently in clinical development, intended for the treatment of infections caused by priority antibiotic-resistant pathogens, as well as tuberculosis and sometimes fatal diarrheal infection caused by a bacterium. Clostridium difficile.
Nevertheless, among all these candidate drugs, only 8 are classified by WHO as innovative medicines that will increase the value of the existing arsenal of antibiotics today.
There is a serious shortage of funds for the treatment of infections caused by tuberculosis Mycobacterium with multiple and broad drug resistance and gram-negative pathogens, including Acinetobacter and Enterobacteriaceae (such as Klebsiella and E.coli), which can cause severe and sometimes fatal infections that pose a particular threat in hospitals and nursing homes.
In addition, very few oral antibiotics are being developed, although they are the main dosage forms for treating infections outside hospitals or in areas with limited resources.
"Pharmaceutical companies and researchers should urgently focus their attention on new antibiotics against some types of extremely dangerous infections that can lead to the death of patients in a few days due to the lack of a line of defense," said Dr. Suzanne Hill, Director of the Department of Essential Medicines at WHO.
To combat this threat, WHO and the Medicines for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) have established a Global Partnership for Antibiotic Research and Development (known as GARDP). On September 4, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Velcom Trust announced the allocation of more than 56 million euros for this work.
"Scientific research in the field of tuberculosis is significantly underfunded – for 70 years, only two new antibiotics for the treatment of drug–resistant tuberculosis have entered the market," said Dr. Mario Raviglione, director of the WHO Global TB Control Program. "To stop TB, it is extremely necessary to allocate more than $800 million annually for financing of scientific research of new anti-tuberculosis drugs".
However, new medicines alone will not be enough to combat the threat of antimicrobial resistance. WHO is working with countries and partners to improve infection prevention and control and promote the appropriate use of existing and future antibiotics. In addition, WHO is developing guidelines on the responsible use of antibiotics in the human and animal health sectors and in the agricultural sector.
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20.09.2017