{"id":96424,"date":"2022-11-21T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=96424"},"modified":"2022-12-12T09:14:35","modified_gmt":"2022-12-12T14:14:35","slug":"can-we-prevent-antibiotic-resistance","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2022\/can-we-prevent-antibiotic-resistance\/","title":{"rendered":"Can we Prevent Antibiotic Resistance?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin record-block-editorial-leadin is-style-text-over-image has-media has-box has-media-focus-center-middle has-text-position-x-center has-light-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1096\" height=\"730\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2015\/04\/Campylobacter-CDC-CARB-X.jpg\" class=\"has-background-opacity has-background-opacity-70\" alt=\"CARB-X at BU Law\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2015\/04\/Campylobacter-CDC-CARB-X.jpg 1096w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2015\/04\/Campylobacter-CDC-CARB-X-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2015\/04\/Campylobacter-CDC-CARB-X-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2015\/04\/Campylobacter-CDC-CARB-X-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2015\/04\/Campylobacter-CDC-CARB-X-992x661.jpg 992w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2015\/04\/Campylobacter-CDC-CARB-X-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2015\/04\/Campylobacter-CDC-CARB-X-1000x666.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2015\/04\/Campylobacter-CDC-CARB-X-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2015\/04\/Campylobacter-CDC-CARB-X-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2015\/04\/Campylobacter-CDC-CARB-X-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1096px) 100vw, 1096px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">CARB-X<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCan we Prevent Antibiotic Resistance?\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Antibiotics are losing effectiveness\u2014and millions are dying as a result. CARB-X, a BU-based partnership that aims to solve antimicrobial resistance, has been given up to $370 million in new funding from the US government and charitable foundation Wellcome.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar js-block-editorial-metabar record-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">November 21, 2022<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/authors\/robin-berghaus\/\">Robin Berghaus<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph record-block-editorial-introparagraph is-style-dropcap-dimensional has-dropcap has-dropcap-color-primary\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph-content\"><p>Antibiotics have saved countless lives since they were introduced in the 1940s, curing infections and making procedures like chemotherapy and surgeries safer. But as bacteria evolve, many have become resistant to antibiotics. An estimated 1.27 million people died worldwide in 2019 from infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria, according to a study published in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lancet\/article\/PIIS0140-6736(21)02724-0\/fulltext\">The Lancet<\/a><\/em>. It\u2019s an estimated death toll that has <a href=\"https:\/\/amr-review.org\/sites\/default\/files\/160518_Final%20paper_with%20cover.pdf\">nearly doubled<\/a> in the past five years.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 2016, BU has been at the forefront of an international effort to combat antimicrobial resistance, leading <a href=\"https:\/\/carb-x.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CARB-X<\/a>, a nonprofit partnership that channels funding and expertise to companies developing lifesaving new antibiotics, vaccines, and rapid diagnostics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that work has been given a boost, with CARB-X receiving up to $370 million in additional funding. The <a href=\"https:\/\/aspr.hhs.gov\/AboutASPR\/ProgramOffices\/BARDA\/Pages\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)<\/a>, part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">US Department of Health and Human Services<\/a>, will provide CARB-X up to $300 million over 10 years. <a href=\"https:\/\/wellcome.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wellcome<\/a>, a global charitable foundation that supports biomedical research, will provide up to $70 million over three years. Both were founding supporters of the initiative, contributing $355 million in its first six years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAntibiotics are unlike other medicines. As bacteria evolve to become resistant, the problem keeps getting worse,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/kevin-outterson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kevin Outterson<\/a>, CARB-X founding executive director and BU Law professor, who has spent much of his career researching business models and incentives for antibiotic development. \u201cWe have to run faster, just to avoid falling behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite their importance\u2014and in contrast to drugs that treat chronic conditions and make blockbuster profits for drug companies\u2014antibiotics lose money. The pipeline of new antibiotics to treat resistant infections has been dwindling for years, even though demand continues to increase. With low sales volumes, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/12\/25\/health\/antibiotics-new-resistance.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">small antibiotic companies have been filing for bankruptcy<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/wellcome.org\/news\/why-is-it-so-hard-develop-new-antibiotics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">many large pharmaceutical companies have shuttered their anti-infective divisions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote record-block-bu-pullquote alignwide is-style-pop has-primary-theme\"><div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote-inner\"><blockquote><div class=\"container-lockup\"><div class=\"container-icon-outer\"><div class=\"container-icon-inner\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"container-text\"><hr\/><div class=\"quote-sizing\">Antibiotics are unlike other medicines. As bacteria evolve to become resistant, the problem keeps getting worse.<\/div><footer class=\"caption\">Kevin Outterson, CARB-X founding executive director and BU Law professor<\/footer><hr\/><\/div><\/div><\/blockquote><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>CARB-X brings together leading scientists and biotech experts to accelerate projects with the greatest potential to target the most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news\/item\/27-02-2017-who-publishes-list-of-bacteria-for-which-new-antibiotics-are-urgently-needed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dangerous bacteria<\/a>. Since its founding, the organization has received <a href=\"https:\/\/carb-x.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CarbX_AR_20-21.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1,163 applications for support<\/a>, awarding $361 million to 92 projects from 12 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although CARB-X\u2019s efforts to foster research and development are beginning to pay off, Outterson believes sustained innovation needs to be supported by policy reform that pays for value rather than volume. Members of Congress are developing bipartisan legislation, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/117th-congress\/senate-bill\/2076\/text\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PASTEUR Act<\/a>, which would function for antibiotics like Netflix does for movies, charging a subscription fee regardless of how many shows customers watch. Under this model, the US government would pay developers an annual fee for a predetermined period based on the product\u2019s value to public health. Without the pressure to sell a high volume of drugs, companies could recover their upfront expenses and be incentivized to continue developing new antibiotics, while physicians would maintain good stewardship practices to slow the spread of resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-end-of-article\">\u201cThe best-informed estimate is that the world needs <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/amr-review.org\/sites\/default\/files\/160518_Final%20paper_with%20cover.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">four breakthrough antibiotics every decade<\/a>. The last new FDA-approved class of antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria was <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/health-41693229\" target=\"_blank\">discovered in 1962<\/a>. I\u2019m 59 years old. That\u2019s my lifetime,\u201d says Outterson. \u201cMore than 30 therapeutics in our portfolio qualify as a new class. If any one of these makes it through, that will be the biggest antibiotic news in more than 60 years.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-medium is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-496x636.jpg\" alt=\"The cover of the fall 2022 issue of The Record magazine: a bronze metallic page with the numbers &quot;150&quot; cut out, through which both color and black and white images are visible on a page underneath\" class=\"wp-image-96909\" width=\"136\" height=\"175\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-496x636.jpg 496w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-798x1024.jpg 798w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-768x985.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-1197x1536.jpg 1197w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-644x826.jpg 644w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-532x682.jpg 532w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-804x1032.jpg 804w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-1030x1321.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-268x344.jpg 268w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-412x529.jpg 412w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-536x688.jpg 536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-825x1058.jpg 825w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-1063x1364.jpg 1063w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-1288x1652.jpg 1288w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover-779x1000.jpg 779w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/11\/Record-F22-cover.jpg 1414w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 136px) 100vw, 136px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<p>FEATURED IN<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2><em>The Record<\/em>, Fall 2022<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/news-stories\/issues\/fall-2022\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">See all stories<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Antibiotics have saved countless lives since they were introduced in the 1940s, curing infections and making procedures like chemotherapy and surgeries safer. But as bacteria evolve, many have become resistant to antibiotics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11260,"featured_media":50694,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"{\"post_id\":96304,\"hed\":\"Finding People Homes in Places that Need People\",\"dek\":\"Next Article\",\"class\":\"wp-block-editorial-billboard record-block-editorial-billboard is-style-accent-photo has-light-overlay has-media\",\"backgroundId\":\"96319\",\"backgroundUrl\":\"\\\/law\\\/files\\\/2022\\\/11\\\/Yanguas-Spain-Street-970x456.jpg\",\"backgroundType\":\"image\",\"backgroundOpacity\":\"100\"}","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":"CARB-X"},"tags":[1771],"bu-publication":[3742],"record-article-category":[3764,3746,4135],"record-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/96424"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11260"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96424"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/96424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97172,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/96424\/revisions\/97172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96424"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=96424"},{"taxonomy":"record-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/record-article-category?post=96424"},{"taxonomy":"record-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/record-topic?post=96424"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=96424"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=96424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}