Report finds brain drain in AMR researchers

12 February 2024

The USA-based AMR Industry Alliance conducted a review of publicly available data on the state of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research and development talent, indicating that researchers are leaving the field of AMR as market dysfunction jeopardizes the investment needed to tackle this growing public health threat.

The report found that:

The AMR R&D workforce is limited and declining. It estimates around 3,000 AMR researchers currently active in the world, compared to as many as 46,000 for cancer and 5,000 for HIV/AIDS.
AMR research output is many times lower than fields like cancer and HIV/AID. In 2022, there were 35 times more papers published on cancer than priority bacteria, with 20 times more patents awarded for cancer than antibiotics.
The AMR R&D workforce has significantly declined over the past two decades. The total number of authors on all AMR publications declined from a high of 3,599 in 1995 to just 1,827 in 2020.

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