THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW DRUGS
Antimicrobial agents kill pathogenic microorganisms, but also allow them to evolve. As these drugs lose their effectiveness due to resistance, new products must be developed to prevent, rapidly diagnose, and treat infections. Unfortunately a new class of antimicrobials has not been introduced since the 1980s. This raises concerns regarding the end of the antimicrobial era.
DRUG PIPELINES
Researchers and pharmaceutical manufacturers have cut back on funds for the development of new agents.
Thus, the number of new antimicrobials in the drug pipeline has sharply decreased. In fact, a new antimicrobial agent has not been introduced for over 30 years. This is due to the lack of incentives received by pharmaceutical companies when developing antimicrobials.
In order to counter this, various government agencies are providing plans and guidelines to aid in the discovery of new drugs. In 2001, the "Public Health Action Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance" (Action Plan) was published to help coordinate federal efforts against resistance. The Action Plan expands existing research in antimicrobial resistance with an end goal of generating new, stronger drugs. The National Institute of Health (NIH) is taking lead by researching genetic blueprints and creating new treatments and vaccines. Moreover, NIH funds and conducts clinical studies to test new antimicrobials as well as novel approaches against a variety of resistant microorganisms.
