Pfizer commits to stop antimicrobial resistance

As part of activities to mark World Antibiotic Awareness week, November 13–19, 2017, the pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, has committed to stop the menace as it promises to offer the industry’s largest and one of the most diverse portfolios of anti-infectives, that includes more than 80 medicines.

Pfizer in a statement noted that antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development today. “We recognize the medical needs of people suffering from infectious diseases, and are committed to being a holistic provider of prevention and treatment solutions beyond just medicines. We strive to be a leader in this space, partnering with the infectious disease community to protect the public health from infectious disease, now and in the future.”

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), antibiotic resistance is rising to dangerously high levels in all parts of the world and that new resistance mechanisms are emerging and spreading globally, threatening people’s ability to treat common infectious diseases. A growing list of infections – such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, blood poisoning, gonorrhoea, and foodborne diseases – are becoming harder, and sometimes impossible, to treat as antibiotics become less effective.

Pfizer in the statement said they are driven by the desire to protect global public health and address the medical needs of people suffering from infectious diseases. “Since our pioneering work on penicillin in the 1940s, we have a long and proud heritage of addressing evolving infectious disease challenges. We are committed to being a holistic provider of prevention and treatment solutions.”

Pfizer said it will continue to invest in novel treatments for infectious disease to address the greatest patient medical needs and provide solutions that go beyond the medicine: offering innovative surveillance tools, shaping the policy environment, and supporting stewardship and education programs that help preserve the efficacy of the antimicrobials we already have available.

According to the company, while anti-infectives have revolutionized medicine, the rapid spread of antimicrobial resistance is raising serious and acute concerns of life-threatening infections becoming impossible to treat and many routine medical procedures becoming too risky to perform.

It noted: “Working together with the infectious disease community, Pfizer is striving to overcome these challenges by leveraging our expertise and capabilities to share solutions with our healthcare partners.

“Anti-infectives save lives but their future is under serious threat. Pfizer is proud to be at the forefront of providing treatments and solutions that protect the public health from infectious disease, now and in the future.”