R&D Insight

Updates: CARB-X TPPs; Independent Panel for Evidence for Action against AMR

Dear All, Two quick updates this evening. First, you will recall that CARB-X have announced their initial 2025 funding round (26 Feb 2025 newsletter), with a call for applications for funding of work on (i) small molecules for Gram-negative infection and (ii) diagnostics for typhoid. In support of these calls, TPPs (target product profiles) for both

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Antibiotic supply chains: Challenges & Opportunities

Dear All, In a report entitled Understanding the Antibiotic Manufacturing Ecosystem: A view of global supply chains, pressure points, and implications for antimicrobial resistance response, the Boston Consulting Group and Wellcome Trust have examined at length the questions of (i) how the #FireExtinguishersOfMedicine are made and (ii) how they can be made with the least impact

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Antibacterial R&D is very hard! Two great pipeline reviews + an Industry-level view

Dear All (and with thanks to Stephan Harbarth for co-authoring this newsletter), A new review by Ursula Theuretzbacher and colleagues from GARDP provides an opportunity to (i) discuss the preclinical antibacterial pipeline (the new paper), (ii) remind you of a recent review of the Gram-negative clinical pipeline, and (iii) share an excellent Industry-level perspective on

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WHO pipeline reviews: Antifungal agents and fungal diagnostics

Dear All, As you know, WHO have been steadfastly producing both priority pathogens lists (PPLs) and pipeline reviews. My current summaries of both are found at https://amr.solutions/pathogens-and-pipelines/. WHO began this process in 2017 with an initial focus antibacterial agents. To date, they have released multiple antibacterial pipeline reviews (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023, see

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HERA: 13m EUR call for rapid point-of-care susceptibility devices

24 Mar 2025 update: The call is live! It’s entitled “Development of a Rapid Point-of-care Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Diagnostic Medical Device (HADEA/2025/CPN/0006).” To apply, you must submit a request to participate by 12 May 2025; selected candidates who met the eligibility criteria will be able to submit a full technical tender. See the 24 Mar 2025 newsletter for a

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Now live: HERA’s call for rapid point-of-care susceptibility devices

Dear All, I wrote in the 19 Feb 2025 newsletter about HERA’s 13m EUR call for rapid point-of-care susceptibility devices. The call is now live! Title: Development of a Rapid Point-of-care Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Diagnostic Medical Device (HADEA/2025/CPN/0006) Funding and Tenders portal link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/tender-details/2e5c607e-6e55-4268-b99a-730c5db350b7-CN “This call for tenders aims to speed up the development of an in

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Unexpected resistance: The tale of rifaximin and daptomycin

Dear All (and with thanks to Patricia Bradford for taking the lead on this newsletter): Today, this paper in Nature takes us on a trip to the land of unintended consequences: Turner, A.M., Li, L., Monk, I.R. et al. Rifaximin prophylaxis causes resistance to the last-resort antibiotic daptomycin. Nature 635, 969–977 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08095-4. A wonkish summary is found below

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EMA: 16m EUR to fund regulatory science research

Dear All, EMA have recently posted a call for tenders under which they seek to “procure the services of research organizations to perform studies on the quality, safety and efficacy of human and veterinary medicines that would provide complementary evidence to support regulatory decision-making.” It’s not specifically about AMR (or, indeed, about any particular therapy

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Gates/Novo Nordisk/Wellcome Grand Challenge: Gr-ADI, the Gram-Negative Antibiotic Discovery Innovator

Dear All, A huge announcement today backed by the combined power of the Gates Foundation, Novo Nordisk, and Wellcome! I am going to quote liberally from their materials: Responding to the problem of AMR, “… the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF), Wellcome, and the Gates Foundation (GF) are jointly launching a new initiative, Gram-Negative Antibiotic Discovery

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Mirror Bacteria: An AMR threat of unprecedented magnitude

Dear All (wonkish but stick with it … I’m going to try very hard to de-wonk it), In an absolutely terrifying paper and technical report in today’s issue of Science, we are introduced in detail to the concept of “mirror” bacteria in which all chiral elements of the bacterium are replaced by their enantiomeric counterparts.

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