Antimicrobial Resistance & Stewardship

Worldwide escalation in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has sparked fear of a looming post-antimicrobial era. Antibiotic overuse and inappropriate use—including over-prescribing, inaccurate, and suboptimal prescribing—promotes bacterial evolution and resistance to treatment. Data suggests that there were an estimated 4.95 million deaths associated with bacterial AMR in 2019. The World Bank estimates that AMR could result in 1 trillion dollars in additional healthcare costs by 2050 if actions are not taken now to curb growing resistance.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a term that is not widely recognised by many people globally. What’s even more concerning is that those who are most affected by AMR—patients and their families—are often the ones who lack that awareness and rely on understanding its consequences.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been identified as an increasing threat to modern medicine, leading to higher treatment costs and increased morbidity and mortality.1 The misuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics is a major contributor to the rise of AMR — particularly in emergency care, where studies have estimated that 40% to 60% of antibiotics are inappropriately prescribed.2 To understand the cause of this disparity, it is important to provide context on the many unique facets of the emergency department, while exploring how comprehensive antimicrobial stewardship could improve prescribing practices.

Decisive action is needed to reduce the global suffering caused by AMR. That's why, on September 26, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) convened its second High-Level Meeting on AMR. The political declaration endorsed by world leaders lays out the essential actions governments must take to combat one of the most urgent global health threats and development challenges of our time. The ambitious goals set forward in the Declaration can in part be met through the increased utilization of diagnostics, enhanced surveillance, and strengthened laboratory capacity.

In advance of a UN High-Level Meeting on AMR in September, the AMR Industry Alliance officially called on the UN and its member states « to commit to and advance bold, coordinated action on AMR ». We asked Alliance Board Chair James Anderson why urgent action is needed to curb AMR, and how the life-sciences industry contributes.