The number of potential antimicrobial treatments being developed by the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies nosedived by 35% — from 92 to 60 — over the past five years, according to a new analysis, and the findings underscore increasing concerns about containing superbugs that threaten public health.
Meanwhile, only five, or 13%, of 39 antimicrobial pipeline projects targeting priority pathogens listed by the World Health Organization are being developed for children under five years old. All five are already approved for adults, but the process for winning approval for use in children has taken several years and, in two cases, is ongoing.
Inequities were also uncovered. In 17 sub-Saharan African countries, none of the companies whose pipelines were assessed had registered pediatric formulations of their antimicrobials. Although regulatory challenges exist, the analysis noted that companies did register other medicines in 10 of these countries.Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…