The world could be 'cast back into the dark ages of medicine' unless action is taken to tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has warned.
He has announced a review into why the pharmaceutical industry has failed to introduce antimicrobial drugs in recent years.
There are fears in the medical profession that manageable illnesses such as pneumonia and tuberculosis could kill huge numbers of people as they did early in the twentieth century.
Economist Jim O’Neill will lead a panel to identify why the international market has failed to bring forward new drugs and set out a plan for encouraging and accelerating the discovery and development of a new generation of powerful drugs. His work will be funded by The Wellcome Trust.
'The emergence of drug-resistant infections and the lack of a sustainable pipeline of antimicrobial drugs are mounting threats to society, and it’s clear that international action is needed now if we are to prevent lives being lost unnecessarily,' O'Neill said.
'As someone who has been immersed in how the world may develop, finding ways to stop this problem is a very exciting challenge.'
O’Neill's review will focus on the development, use and regulatory environment around antibiotics. It will explore how to make investment in new antibiotics more attractive to pharmaceutical companies and other funding bodies.
The emergence of drug-resistant infections and the lack of a sustainable pipeline of antimicrobial drugs are mounting threats to society
While welcoming the Prime Minister’s acknowledgement of the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, Professor Sir Anthony Coates, Helperby Therapeutics’ Chief Scientific Officer, says that action is needed now in the form of resources for drug discovery – not more reviews.
'There have been so many reviews and reports yet very little action. Big Pharma has all but left the playing field in favour of more lucrative treatments for long term conditions and it has been left to fledgling drug discovery companies such as Helperby to try to fill the void.
'Small researchers and developers like Helperby are working hard to find solutions but they need funding, and they need it now – by the time the PM’s review reports back in September 2015 more resistance will have developed and more lives will have been lost.'
Helperby Therapeutics is a spin-out of St George’s University of London and claims to have discovered the world’s first antibiotic resistance breaker which is currently in development under license by Cadila Pharmaceuticals India.
There have been so many reviews and reports yet very little action
Professor Sir Keith Burnett, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, said: 'We were delighted to see that the Prime Minister has asked our Sheffield graduate Jim O'Neill to lead vital international work on this crucial area. The development of antibiotics means that many have lost sight of what it was like to be under constant threat from infectious diseases.
'Today we are seeing the emergence of increased numbers of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. This is a pressing issue for global healthcare as the Prime Minister has explained. Essential work of the kind carried out by the Florey Institute at the University of Sheffield, is needed to reinvent our understanding of pathogens and develop new treatments that will help save millions of lives across the world.'
GPs could also be told to stop prescribing antibiotics when they are not needed.
'For many of us, we only know a world where infections or sicknesses can be quickly remedied by a visit to the doctor and a course of antibiotics,' Cameron said.
'This great British discovery has kept our families safe for decades, while saving billions of lives around the world. But that protection is at risk as never before. Resistance to antibiotics is now a very real and worrying threat, as bacteria mutates to become immune to its effect.'
Patents for many antibiotics having expired, which has led more pharmaceutical companies joining the market, which means drug firms are making smaller profits and investing less in vital cures.
This is not some distant threat but something happening right now
Cameron said: 'With some 25,000 people a year already dying from infections resistant to anti-biotic drugs in Europe alone, this is not some distant threat but something happening right now.
'If we fail to act, we are looking at an almost unthinkable scenario where antibiotics no longer work and we are cast back into the dark ages of medicine where treatable infections and injuries will kill once again.
'That simply cannot be allowed to happened and I want to see a stronger, more coherent global response, with nations, business and the world of science working together to up our game in the field of antibiotics.'
Cameron held discussions with world leaders about the issue last month at a meeting of the G7.
