UNCTAD and WHO focus in on investments for development of new antibiotics

During the World Investment Forum 2018, UNCTAD and WHO jointly organized an event on ‘Fostering investments in the development of new antibacterial treatments.

The event focused on promoting partnerships between funders and developers, where efforts and attention should be focused in the R&D process and how actors such as UNCTAD can bring relevant actors together to devise solutions to the current challenges in antibiotic discovery, research and development.

Matching developers with investors to improve pipeline
The event brought together drug developers, investors and funding mechanisms and representatives from civil society and governments. ReAct was invited to speak about the need to consider the challenges of ensuring affordable access and stewardship throughout the research and development (R&D) process and how investors should take part in ensuring this.

Classic R&D model doesn’t work
The classic R&D model doesn’t work for developing new antibiotics as evidenced by decades of innovation void in this field as well as the WHO pipeline analysis which shows a big gap and need for innovative antibacterials for the priority pathogens. New innovation models are needed alongside innovative and transforming investment models to address the specific challenges of developing antibiotics.

Governments adopted the basic principles for such new models in the UN General Assembly Political declaration on AMR: that all R&D should be needs-driven and guided by the principles of affordability, effectiveness, efficiency and equity, and the importance of delinking the cost of investment in R&D on AMR from the price and volume of sales. This should be the starting point for all discussions on AMR R&D financing, but these principles are often departed from in new initiatives by funders and companies, something that ReAct repeatedly has been pointing out since their adoption.

Source and further reading: ReAct