Background of addressing the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a real and immediate global threat.

The damaging effects caused by resistant pathogens are already responsible for an estimated 700,000 deaths per year globally, and future projections of the impact of unresolved AMR surpass the projected number of deaths caused by cancer by 2050. As AMR also could have a grave impact on the global economy, it potentially could pose a high direct and indirect cost to society.

In the future, lack of effective antibiotics could make routine medical interventions extremely dangerous or even impossible.

For these reasons, AMR must be regarded as a global, regional, and national priority for health organizations and governments, to be addressed with the utmost urgency on a global scale.

On February 27, 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) published its first-ever list of antibiotic-resistant “priority pathogens,” a catalog of 12 families of bacteria that pose the greatest threat to human health. Stating that “Antibiotic resistance is growing, and we are fast running out of treatment options,” the WHO stressed the need to develop new antibiotics. The 12 pathogens on the list are divided into three categories according to the urgency of need for new antibiotics, with carbapenem-resistant bacteria slotting into the critical category where the need for new antibiotics is considered particularly urgent.