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 The review, headed by the leading economist and former Goldman Sachs
chief Jim O'Neill, said far too little is currently invested in
research that could lead to new drugs to fight drug-resistant
bacterial and viral infections.
"A lot of innovative thinking is happening in infectious disease
research at the moment. These bright ideas need to be developed,"
the report said. "But lack of funding means that while people,
machines and laboratories are ready to tackle the next challenges,
they are unable to do so."
The problem of infectious bugs becoming drug-resistant has been a
feature of medicine since the discovery of the first antibiotic,
penicillin, in 1928. But it has grown in recent years as bugs
resistant to multiple drugs have developed and drugmakers have cut
back investment in this field.
The World Health Organization has warned that unless something
drastic is done, a post-antibiotic era, where basic healthcare
becomes life-threatening due to risk of infection during routine
operations, could arrive this century.
O'Neill, who was asked last year by British Prime Minister David
Cameron to take a global economist's view of the issue, said in his
initial report that so-called anti-microbial resistance (AMR) could
kill an extra 10 million people a year and cost up to $100 trillion
by 2050 if the rampant global spread of superbugs is not halted.
In this latest report, O'Neill called on international funders, both
philanthropic and governmental, to allocate money to a fund "to
support blue sky science and incubate ideas that are more mature".
"New drugs take 10 to 15 years to come onto market, so the time for
action is now," he said.
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When it comes to research funding, the report said infectious
diseases and the medical interventions needed to tackle them are an
underfunded "poor relation" compared to chronic illnesses such as
cancer, diabetes, heart disease and dementia.
It said a targeted "innovation fund" could support the kind of
research needed to pave the way for new drugs, for alternatives to
antibiotics and for new testing technology that is vital to ensure
the right drugs are used.
The fund could also "reverse the brain drain to research areas that
are currently better-paid and held in higher academic esteem, such
as cancer, diabetes and dementia," it said.
(Editing by Liisa Tuhkanen and Raissa Kasolowsky)
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