Experts, lawmakers call for improved drug pipeline to treat superbugs

Antimicrobial resistant (AMR) microorganisms, also known as superbugs, increasingly threaten every person on Earth, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and national experts.

“Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most urgent health risks of our time and threatens to undo a century of medical progress,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who recently called for AMR action across all government sectors and society as new AMR microorganisms emerge and spread globally.

The problem is that AMR microorganisms — like bacteria, fungi, viruses and some parasites — stop antimicrobials — such as antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials — from working against them, rendering standard treatments ineffective so that infections persist and then spread, resulting in prolonged illness, disability and death