New multi-action, multi-strain anti-infectives needed to win battle against AMR 

CEO Dr Deborah O’Neil today stated that a multi-attack and multi-strain approach to the development of new antibiotics is the only way to meet the rising challenge of AMR.

Dr O’Neil was speaking at the ‘Focus on Anti-Infectives: Innovation for AMR’ workshop alongside companies such as Polyphor, RedX, and VICALat, at this year’s BIO International Convention in San Francisco. The workshop brought together those involved in all aspects of AMR, including industry large and small, universities, investors, expert scientific and business support, funders, policy makers and regulatory bodies.

The event was hosted by the Innovative Medicines’ Initiative (IMI), The Wellcome Trust-funded Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery and the IMI-funded European Biotechnology Networks ENABLE project. In key note speeches, they highlighted the global tools available to support the development of novel anti-infectives.

“While efforts are being made to develop new antibiotics, unless a co-ordinated approach is taken, the problem of resistance will always be an issue across fungal, bacterial and biofilm forms of infection,” said Dr O’Neil.

“We must act on infections already resistant to other antimicrobials with multiple modes of action and multi-strain attack to mitigate the evolution of resistance.  In parallel, we need to combine novel anti-infectives with resistance breakers that can attack infections from all sides. Addressing the issue now and planning for the future is crucial.”