Pfizer Pledges $100 Million to New Industry Fund to Help Fight Growing Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance

Pfizer Inc. announced it has pledged $100 million to the new Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Action Fund, which launched today, to help address the significant global public health need for new antibiotics due to the rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant infections.

The AMR Action Fund is a ground-breaking collaboration among more than 20 biopharmaceutical companies that aims to bring 2-4 new antibiotics to patients by 2030 through collaboration between pharmaceutical companies, philanthropies, development banks, and multilateral organizations to re-invigorate and accelerate antibiotic development.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, we must invest in the development of medicines now so that we are prepared to help prevent the next public health crisis,” said Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Albert Bourla. “We strongly believe the world cannot tackle the growing threat of AMR without collaboration – and that it will take a combination of prevention measures, responsible stewardship and innovative thinking to overcome existing obstacles. The new AMR Action Fund gives us the vehicle to do that by investing in and stimulating a potentially stronger pipeline for antimicrobial medicines.”

Each year 700,000 people die from AMR. By 2050, it is estimated that AMR could claim as many as 10 million lives per year. To combat AMR, antibiotics should only be used when necessary to preserve their effectiveness.

While antibiotics revolutionized medicine in the 20th century and, together with vaccination, have led to the near eradication of many diseases in the developed world, over time, bacteria change and adapt to the use of antibiotics, rendering them ineffective. This makes it more difficult to treat common infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and salmonellosis, leading to longer hospital stays, higher medical costs and increased mortality.

Pfizer takes a multi-pronged approach to tackling AMR. We are a leading developer of vaccines that help prevent infections in the first place, reducing the need for antibiotics that may result in resistant strains. We are also one of the few large research-based pharmaceutical companies still active in research and development for anti-infectives, and work with partners to close critical prevention and treatment gaps in infectious disease around the globe. In addition, we are committed to responsible antibiotic stewardship, and are proud to offer one of the largest and most accessible AMR surveillance programs in the world, called ATLAS – the only platform that provides public access to both antifungal and antibacterial resistance data through a single resource. ATLAS is accessible freely to anyone, anywhere via the Web or the ATLAS mobile application.

Pfizer’s commitment to the AMR Action Fund builds on our long-standing work fighting infectious diseases and reducing health disparities for patients in the United States and globally. In partnership with organizations around the world, Pfizer is redefining the way we fight infectious diseases by creating meaningful and sustainable solutions that address today’s biggest health challenges and protect the world’s most vulnerable people.