Opinion

Despite Industry AMR Declaration commitments Sanofi quits R&D on anti-infectives

Sanofi announced last week that they are shedding off their anti-infectives Research & Development unit. This is surprising as Sanofi was a leading partner of the AMR Industry Alliance and raises questions on the level of commitments made. With big pharmaceutical companies outsourcing Research & Development, it sparks the need to ensure that incentives models target the actors actually involved in Research & Development.

News

Obstacles to appropriate use of antibiotics in spite of diagnostic capacity

A common obstacle for appropriate use of antibiotics is often said to be lack of diagnostic tests that can either verify or rule out a bacterial infection, as uncertainty drives use of antibiotics “just in case”. One estimate, for example, states that universal availability to an “optimal” diagnostic test for acute lower respiratory tract infections could save 404 million unnecessary antibiotic treatments in low and middle income countries. But even if a diagnostic test is available it needs to be used and be relied upon by physicians and patients. Two studies from the USA published during the first half of 2018 illustrate some of these problems.

ReAct Interview

Associate Professor Mattias Larsson on the challenges of antibiotic resistance in Vietnam

Mattias Larsson is a Swedish Associate Professor working in Vietnam. Professor Larsson expresses his concern and says it is a worrying situation in the country. In his research project they found increasing levels of resistance and high levels of colonization with Gram negative bacteria resistant to almost all available antibiotics.

News

Research project in Vietnam: results indicate very high rates of resistance to most antibiotics

In 2016-2017, ReAct supported a research project in Vietnam on preserving efficacy of last-line antibiotics. Results indicate very high rates of resistance to most antibiotics, including carbapenems.

Opinion

Mass administration of antibiotics does not solve the root cause of child mortality in Africa

The situation for many children in sub-Saharan Africa is dire: a variety of infectious diseases, malnutrition and inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure all take their toll in these most vulnerable. According to UNICEF, the estimated mortality rate in children under 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa in 2016 was 78.4 deaths per 1000 live births. We all share a responsibility to reduce these mortality rates, but how?

Science

Rise in global antibiotic consumption between 2000 and 2015 – what can we learn from the latest study?

According to a recent publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, global antibiotic consumption in humans has increased dramatically from 2000 to 2015. The study rings a bell on the complex challenges posed by underuse, misuse and overuse of antibiotics.

Opinion

Towards stronger global governance for AMR

As global attention and political will to address the rising tide of antibiotic resistance has increased over the last years, and a wider range of actors starting to become involved in the field, the urgency of developing global governance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is growing.

News

The rise and fall of antibiotics?

As we recently commemorated the World Health Day, it is interesting to remind us all of the rise and approaching fall of one of the most powerful discoveries in medical history – antibiotics. What makes them so special, and why is bacterial resistance such a major threat to human health?

News

Why are fixed dose combinations of antibiotics generally not a good idea?

Fixed dose combinations are pharmaceutical products such as tablets, ointments or suspensions where two or more antibiotics are combined in one product. In the treatment of Tuberculosis and HIV, they are vital for treatment success as they improve compliance and reduce development of resistance.

In theory, it sounds like a good idea to copy this success to other bacteria and antibiotic resistance, but in practice it is generally not so.

Opinion

The ethics of antibiotic resistance

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics gives rise to new ethical problems. Much of medical ethics prior to antibiotics has been focused on whether a certain procedure is justified, for example with respect to safety, efficacy and costs. But as antibiotic resistance has a global impact that persists over time, new questions arise that cannot be solved only by more or better science. In contrast with science, which is descriptive, ethics is normative. Ethics deals with what we ought to do or ought not to do.

News

Antibiotic resistance strikes hardest at the poor

It is a well-known fact that antibiotic resistant infections have a major influence on the health of people globally. Antibiotic resistance increases both mortality and morbidity due to treatment failures and lack of effective therapy. But antibiotic resistance has even more far-reaching consequences on different levels that often tend to be overlooked.

Antibiotic resistance

In the last 70 years the use of antibiotics has been crucial in improving countless lives and drastically reducing deaths caused by bacterial infections. The increasing development of antibiotic resistance is posing a serious threat to human health and development, the environment and for animal health. Learn more about ReAct’s work on antibiotic resistance here.