The market for new antibiotics is effectively failing. No novel class of drugs for the most virulent and persistent infections, those caused by Gram negative bacteria, has entered the clinic for over 50 years, and the drugs we have are steadily, if slowly, becoming less effective. Earlier this year Dame Sally Davies, the outgoing Chief Medical Officer for England, described the threat of antibiotic resistance as ‘catastrophic’ and potentially as great as that from climate change. Peter Jackson, Executive Director of the AMR Centre in Alderley Park, UK, is among those who believe that the pharma industry, often castigated as villains in the drama of antibiotics versus bacteria, must have a large part to play in turning this situation round. He will discuss these issues further during a panel discussion on deal-making in antibiotic development at Genesis 2019.
