Countries need to get together and provide a $1bn reward for developers of new antibiotics, according to a new report by the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

One way to fund this is to impose a levy on the pharmaceutical sector, says AMR chair Jim O’Neill. “I would find such a funding mechanism particularly attractive if it could be applied on a ‘pay or play’ basis, where those firms who invest in R&D that is useful for AMR can deduct their investment from the charge owed by all players within the industry.” We need new ways to reward innovation while reducing the link between profit and volume of sales and ensuring that developers give access and promote stewardship globally, he says.

The report also calls for the uptake of rapid point-of-care diagnostics in primary and secondary care to cut unnecessary use of antibiotics.

“I find it incredible that doctors must still prescribe antibiotics based only on their immediate assessment of a patient’s symptoms, just like they used to when antibiotics first entered common use in the 1950s,” says Jim O’Neill.

“I call on the governments of the richest countries to mandate now that by 2020, all antibiotic prescriptions will need to be informed by up-to-date surveillance information and a rapid diagnostic test wherever one exists.”

Commenting on the O’Neill report, Professor Jayne Lawrence, RPS chief scientist said: “I’d like to see patients dropping in to their local pharmacist for advice and a test, so the right antibiotic could then be supplied.

“If the test reveals the patient has a viral infection, they could receive advice on how to treat their symptoms and how long to expect them to last. It is often a lack of awareness of how long symptoms can persist that drives unnecessary visits to GP surgeries and requests for antibiotics.”

The report, Tackling Drug-Resistant Infections Globally: final report and recommendations, can be found here.

I find it incredible that doctors must still prescribe antibiotics based only on their immediate assessment of a patient’s symptoms