BIO campaign gathers pharma partners to lobby Congress against superbugs

Merck, Novo Holdings and several smaller drug developers are partnering with the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) trade group in a new initiative to spur research and development in the fight against superbugs.

The “Working to Fight AMR” awareness and lobbying campaign tackles the problem of drug development in antimicrobial-resistant drugs, as most big companies have already moved out of the low-margin business. Executives from Novo Holdings, Merck, Entasis Therapeutics, Evotec, Paratek Pharmaceuticals and Forge Therapeutics are lending expertise to the group, said Greg Frank, BIO’s director of infectious disease policy, who is heading up the coalition. He expects the companies to not only contribute ideas, but also provide real-world stories about what they’re doing and why they need help in the antimicrobial battle.