Landscape of Push Funding in Antibiotic Research: Current Status and Way Forward

• Published in: Biology (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 101
• Main Authors: Wasan, Himika, Singh, Devendra, Reeta, K H, Gupta, Yogendra Kumar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 09.01.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; antimicrobial resistance; CARB-X; Clinical outcomes; Clinical trials; Drug resistance; FDA approval; Funding; GARDP; Grants; Infections; Infectious diseases; Monetary incentives; ND4BB; Net present value; Pharmaceutical industry; Product development; Public health; push funding; R&D; Research & development; Review; Small business; Trends; Vaccines; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; BARDA; combating AMR; GARDP; ND4BB; antimicrobial resistance; CARB-X; push funding; antibiotics
• ISSN: 2079-7737; 2079-7737
• DOI: 10.3390/biology12010101

The growing need for effective antibiotics is attributed to the intrinsic ability of bacteria to develop survival mechanisms. The speed at which pathogens develop resistance is at par or even faster than the discovery of newer agents. Due to the enormous cost of developing an antibiotic and poor return on investment, big pharmaceutical companies are stepping out of the antibiotic research field, and the world is now heading towards the silent pandemic of antibiotic resistance. Lack of investment in research has further led to the anemic antibiotic pipeline. To overcome these challenges, various organizations have come forward with push funding to financially assist antibiotic developers. Although push funding has somewhat reinvigorated the dwindled field of antibiotic development by bearing the financial risks of failure, the landscape is still large and staggered. Most of the funding is funneled towards the early stages; however, to carry the promising compounds forward, equal or more funding is required formid- and late-stage research. To some extent, the complexity associated with accessing the funding mechanisms has led to their underutilization. In the present review, we discuss several major push funding mechanisms, issues in their effective utilization, recent strategies adopted, and a way forward to streamline funding in antibiotic research.