Antibiotics picture worse than ever, says WHO

Years of campaigning for a renewed drive in antibiotic (AB) drug development have not yet delivered a healthy pipeline that will end the crisis soon, says the World Health Organization (WHO).

A long-term advocate for prioritizing the development of new ABs, the WHO has cited two new reports that reveal a weak pipeline for these drugs, a situation that threatens global efforts to contain drug-resistant infections.

The 60 products in development – 50 ABs and 10 biologics – bring little benefit over existing treatments and very few target the most critical resistant bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria.