Pharmaceutical companies will be paid to develop new drugs for resistant infections in a new incentive scheme launched by the NHS.
Antibiotics
Led by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the new ‘subscription’ style model will pay pharmaceutical companies upfront for access to drugs based on their usefulness to the NHS.
Drugs companies are currently paid by the number of antibiotics sold. However, seeing as the NHS is attempting to reduce their use to prevent antimicrobial resistance (AMR), it can be argued that pharma companies currently have little incentive to develop new treatments for resistant infections.
It’s hoped that the scheme will make it more attractive for pharma companies to invest in developing new drugs, as the new model reassures them they will still be paid for the drug, even if it stored for reserves.
Now, NICE and NHS England are calling on companies to identify products which will be considered for the initial phase of the scheme.
The model is the first to be tested in the world and its findings will be shared with other governments so that it can potentially be tested in their healthcare systems.
Inappropriate usage of antibiotics has resulted in them starting to fail. AMR currently causes over 700,000 deaths every years and by 2050 it’s estimated by this number will rise to 10 million.
Speaking about the new scheme, health and social care secretary, Matt Hancock said: “There is no greater threat to global health than drug-resistant infections, yet there have been no major new antibiotic drug classes discovered since the 1980s.
"Imagine a world in which a papercut can lead to infection that can’t be controlled. We must stop that from happening. Tackling superbugs needs global leadership and peoples’ lives depend on us finding a new way forward.
"Our NHS is in a unique position to take a global lead in testing new payment models. We will take the lead but this is a global problem and we cannot succeed alone.
"I am proud the UK is taking the first steps towards a solution and I am urging the rest of the world to join us in the fight against superbugs.”
The announcement follows the government’s five-year action plan on AMR which details how it will combat AMR by 2040, and the appointment of professor dame Sally Davies as the first UK special envoy on AMR.
Dr Sheuli Porkess, executive director of research, medical and innovation at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), said: “Increased resistance to antibiotics is one of the greatest threats to global health we face.
“Today’s announcement is an example of how the UK can lead the world in this fight and hopefully brings us closer to fixing the problems that have hampered investment in antibiotics research for so long.
“Patients can’t afford to wait. Our members are ready to get started, and the sooner we get this pilot up and running, the sooner we can apply what we find to other antimicrobials in development.”