International partnership to combat antimicrobial resistance launches

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Wellcome Trust of London, the AMR Centre of Alderley Park and Boston University released plans on Thursday to create one of the world’s largest public-private partnerships centered on the preclinical discovery and development of new antimicrobial products.

The partnership – the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) – will seek to promote innovation and could provide hundreds of millions of dollars over a five-year period to increase the number of antibiotics in drug-development.

CARB-X represents a global innovation initiative for antibiotic research and development as more antibiotic-resistant bacteria become more prevalent throughout the world.

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) will join the Wellcome Trust and the AMR Centre in the joint oversight project. BARDA will provide $30 million in the first year and up to $250 million throughout the five-year period, while the AMR Centre will provide $14 million in year one, with up to $100 million for the duration of the project.

The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council and the California Life Sciences Institute will provide additional support for related projects.

“Increasingly, it is becoming clear that partnerships of global reach and efficiency are needed to address complex problems like antimicrobial resistance,” Richard Hatchett, acting BARDA director, said. “The establishment of CARB-X is a watershed moment; governments, academia, industry, and nongovernment organizations have come together to operate under a common strategic framework to tackle a monumental public health threat of our time.”