Could the World Be at Risk of Losing One of Its Most Powerful Healthcare Tools?

Six months into the most devastating global pandemic in a hundred years, I’m sure many of us wish we could go back in time to take steps to prevent this crisis. While this is not an option, what we can do is look ahead to what threats loom on the horizon. One in particular is antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which puts the world at risk of losing its most powerful healthcare tool: antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most significant emergencies of the 21st century, responsible for at least 700,000 deaths a year. By 2050, those numbers could increase to 10 million — a greater global impact than we currently face from diseases like cancer and diabetes. The sharp growth of AMR has the potential to make diseases that are currently easy to treat with antibiotics virtually incurable, a problem that threatens every nation across the globe.     

The world needs new antibiotics to help treat superbugs, but there are few in the pipeline, in large part because of the lack of a viable market. When a new antibiotic is approved, it should be used as judiciously as possible. While that preserves the effectiveness of the medication, it means innovators face challenges recouping their investment. In the long run, the uncontrolled rise of AMR could have severe public health and economic consequences. Cumulatively, AMR could cost the global economy more than $100 trillion between 2014 and 2050. The good news is that AMR is a predictable and preventable crisis. We can stop this threat, but only if we take action now.

Johnson & Johnson is proud to join more than 20 distinguished industry partners to launch the AMR Action Fund, which is investing nearly $1 billion with the goal of bringing two to four new antibiotics to patients by the end of the next decade. This the largest collective venture ever created to address AMR and a critical step forward in addressing this global challenge. We are acting together to solve the antibiotic innovation challenge, bridging the gap between science and patients to safeguard our future. Johnson & Johnson is taking decisive action in the face of this major global challenge, much like our willingness to jump headfirst into our COVID-19 vaccine efforts. As a founding partner, we are contributing $100 million to the Fund. 

At Johnson & Johnson, we have a long-term commitment to fight growing threats. We are committed to practicing responsible stewardship of antimicrobial medicines, which is exemplified in our work to tackle drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). DR-TB is the world’s leading cause of AMR-related fatalities. Just this week we announced a partnership with Stop TB, USAID, and the Global Fund to help rapidly scale up national TB programs across more than 135 countries. This will help us move closer to the United Nations High-Level Meeting target of treating 1.5 million people with DR-TB by 2022.

Our COVID-19 relief efforts are another example of our long-term commitment to the health of current and future generations. In the days after the World Health Organization identified a new coronavirus, now known as COVID-19, Johnson & Johnson mobilized quickly in response. We were on the ground in China and in labs where our scientists started working on a potential vaccine candidate. Since then, we have never stopped fighting this pandemic. Johnson & Johnson is committed to advancing the health of everyone, everywhere – whether that means fighting COVID-19 or other threats like AMR.