The Problem

Antibiotic Resistance: The world is on the cusp of the post-antibiotic era

Antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents have been used successfully for 70 years to treat a broad range of infectious diseases. As a result of ever-growing use, infectious organisms are becoming resistant to antibiotics. Many experts have proclaimed that we have entered the post-antibiotic era.

In fact, many bacteria are resistant to most, if not all, currently used antibiotics and this resistance is spreading. Unless new approaches to treating infectious diseases are developed, infections that are easily treated today will be life-threatening in the near future.

According to the CDC, at least 2 million people become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year in the United States. At least 23,000 patients die as a direct result of these infections.

In response to this growing crisis, governments and health organizations worldwide are launching initiatives to spur research and development into new antimicrobial solutions.

What they’re saying:

Atterx Biotherapeutics CDC Quote “The more we look at drug resistance, the more concerned we are… It is the end of the road for antibiotics unless we act urgently.”

– Dr. Tom Frieden, Director CDC, 2016

Atterx Biotherapeutics Presidential Quote “The evolution of antibiotic resistance is now occurring at an alarming rate and is outpacing the development of new countermeasures capable of thwarting infections in humans.”

– President Barack Obama, 2015

Atterx Biotherapeutics NIAID Quote “Antibiotics are a very serious public health problem for us, and it’s getting worse. Resistant microbes outstrip new antibiotics. It’s an ongoing problem. It’s not like we can fix it, and it’s over. We have to fight continued resistance with a continual pipeline of new antibiotics and continue with the perpetual challenge”

– Dr. A. Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), 2014

Atterx Biotherapeutics World Health Organization “The problem is so serious that it threatens the achievements of modern medicine. A post-antibiotic era—in which common infections and minor injuries can kill—is a very real possibility.”

– World Health Organization, 2014

Global Initiatives to Address Antibiotic Resistance

Generating Antibiotics Incentives Now Act (2012 GAIN Act)

Incentivizes the development of new antibiotics in response to the growing threat of antibiotic resistance and a lack of antibiotic product development.
Targets of the Act include Gram-positive bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE).
Also targeted by the Act are antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and the carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE), such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The Food and Drug Administration

National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Issued by President Barack Obama, the Plan addresses drug-resistant threats that affect the U.S. and the world.
Goal is to slow the emergence of resistant bacteria, and accelerate surveillance, diagnostics, research and development.
Key target: Gram-negative bacteria.

President of the United States