Industry association disputes plan to tackle antibiotic resistance

Governments should retain the free-market model of remuneration for antimicrobials in their attempts to tackle antimicrobial resistance, rather than implementing the de-linking approach suggested by the O’Neill review, the UK BioIndustry Association has said.

The best economic model for developing drugs to tackle antimicrobial resistance is the existing free-market remuneration model, but applied to a continuous supply of more specific, narrow-spectrum antibiotics and coupled with the use of rapid diagnostics, the association said on 17 June.

This is in contrast to proposals set out in a review on antimicrobial resistance headed by economist Jim O’Neill, which reported in May, that said governments should set up advance lump-sum payments for antimicrobials alongside restrictions on the drugs’ use.