Consortium set to ‘reinvigorate’ antibiotics

A new European initiative to tackle the issue of antibiotic resistance got underway this month with the launch of Drive-AB (Driving Reinvestment in R&D and Responsible Antibiotic Use). Drive-AB has received €9.4 million from the EU Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI). It says its aim is to “define a standard for the responsible use of the dwindling reserve of effective antibiotics, and to develop, test and recommend new economic models for pharmaceutical industry investment in producing new ones.”

The initiative has partners in 11 European countries from academic institutions, research organisations, and the pharma and biotech industries. Over the next three years, the partners will start to create and test new economic models for antibiotic R&D to reinvigorate investments. Simultaneously, the consortium will examine how the efficacy of existing and new drugs can be maintained and preserved by defining their responsible and appropriate use.

Project leader, Stephan Harbarth, University of Geneva said "I am very excited about the ambitious DRIVE-AB agenda that will be delivered by uniting a unique panel of experts across a range of disciplines including medical, scientific, business and economic sciences across clinical, academic and commercial sectors". He continued: "The dual crisis of antibiotic resistance and the near empty antibiotic pipeline pose a very real threat to human health. Only collaboration on this scale, involving stakeholders worldwide will be sufficient to address the crisis. I am confident the worldwide renowned expertise, motivation and diversity of the DRIVE-AB partners are an appropriate match for the complexity and scope of the problem to be confronted."