[Deutsch]
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) welcomes Germany’s increased commitment to preventing and combatting global pandemics through funding to accelerate the development of new treatments for drug-resistant serious bacterial infections in hospitalized people.
Germany announced funding of €5 million for GARDP during the Coronavirus Global Response international pledging conference held in May 2020. This contribution recognizes that effective antibiotics are the foundation of health systems and critical for long-term pandemic preparedness and response, including to treat secondary bacterial infections during viral pandemics.
The funding also underscores the need to invest in antibiotic research and development to tackle the slow-moving pandemic of drug resistant infections, which already claim 700,000 lives every year. While drug-resistant bacteria can infect anyone, people in healthcare settings are particularly vulnerable.
“COVID-19 is a clarion call for the entire global health community, reminding us of the importance of stronger cooperation. There is a need for significantly greater investment in the research and development of new antibiotics, which will help us provide hospital patients in particular with comprehensive treatment. New antibiotics enable us to control novel disease outbreaks, but also to treat known pathogens developing resistance to currently available treatments,” said German Federal Minister of Education and Research Anja Karliczek. “We call on more countries to support GARDP in its critical mission.”
Germany has been a strong supporter of GARDP since its creation and has played a leading role in efforts to address antibiotic resistance. The funding will be used to accelerate the development of a new treatment for serious bacterial infections in hospitalized children and adults, including infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA). These infections have been identified by the World Health Organization as priority pathogens in critical need of new antibiotics.
“We thank Germany for their increased contribution to GARDP, which characterizes their remarkable leadership in global health and efforts to tackle drug-resistance,” said Dr Manica Balasegaram, Executive Director of GARDP. “This contribution, part of Germany’s wider pledge of €525 million to address COVID-19, recognizes that effective antibiotics are a cornerstone of modern healthcare and a critical element of our ability to respond to pandemics.”
GARDP is seeking to raise €500 million by 2025 to develop five new treatments for the drug-resistant infections that pose the greatest threat to health.
About GARDP
The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) is a not-for-profit organization developing new treatments for drug-resistant infections that pose the greatest threat to health. Established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) in 2016 to ensure that everyone who needs antibiotics receives effective and affordable treatment, no matter where they live. We aim to develop five new treatments by 2025 to fight drug-resistant infections, focusing on sexually transmitted infections, sepsis in newborns and infections in hospitalized adults and children. GARDP is funded by the governments of Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, United Kingdom, as well as Médecins Sans Frontières and private foundations. www.gardp.org
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