Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global issue since more than 700,000 people die each year. It is estimated that by the year 2050, AMR could claim up to 10 million lives, more than cancer.

Despite the looming crises, Novartis will be shutting down antimicrobial research at its Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research campus in Emeryville, California. There will be a loss of 140 jobs and the current projects will be put up for sale. This company was working on phase 2 clinical trial of LYS228 against complicated urinary tract infections and complicated intra-abdominal infections. The work on anti-dengue drugs and anti-malaria drugs (KAF156 and KAE609) were already in pipeline.

A spokesperson from Novartis said “while the science for these programs is compelling, we have decided to prioritize our resources in other areas where we believe we are better positioned to develop innovative medicines that will have a positive impact for patients.”

The decision taken by Novartis follows other pharma companies such as Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, and Eli Lilly as a result of difficulties to develop new drug classes and their low sales..

However, smaller pharma companies are continuing their research in developing new antibiotics. Big pharma companies participate in drug development via public-private consortia including academia sector such as DRIVE-AB and ENABLE initiatives. Additionally, several steps were taken to stimulate R&D into antibiotics by incentivizing biopharma investments in antibiotic development.