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Antimicrobial resistance
The spread of drug-resistant pathogens, known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), is a growing public health concern. AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to antibiotics or other antimicrobial medicines. As a result, common infections that we used to treat easily – such as pneumonia or tuberculosis – become increasingly difficult or impossible to treat.1
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Johnson & Johnson is proud to lead efforts to outpace antimicrobial resistance
The company’s efforts seek to address this rising public health threat and protect the backbone of modern medicine
Our strategies
Besides raising the awareness of AMR and stewardship with respect to the use of antimicrobials, three strategies to respond to AMR are critical in every context:
Preventing individuals from acquiring resistant infections
Treating existing AMR-related infections appropriately
Discovering and developing new tools to reverse the trend of growing drug resistance
Outpacing AMR
In the fight against AMR, both vaccines and therapeutics have a vital role to play, alongside the development of new antibiotics, better diagnostics, and implementation of better stewardship for the use of antibiotics.
We are focused on the development of vaccines to protect people from severe bacterial infections and exploring innovative technologies to treat those infected. Through new scientific approaches, our goal is to shift the paradigm in how we address AMR.
We are focused on the development of vaccines to protect people from severe bacterial infections and exploring innovative technologies to treat those infected. Through new scientific approaches, our goal is to shift the paradigm in how we address AMR.
A vaccine for E. coli? Meet a researcher hot on the trail
Extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) causes approximately 10 million cases of invasive ExPEC disease, such as sepsis, each year, leading to approximately 1 million deaths worldwide.*
We are excited about the progress of our ExPEC vaccine candidate in Phase 3 development which aims to prevent invasive ExPEC Disease caused by the nine most relevant serotypes of ExPEC.
We are excited about the progress of our ExPEC vaccine candidate in Phase 3 development which aims to prevent invasive ExPEC Disease caused by the nine most relevant serotypes of ExPEC.
Advocating to end drug-resistant TB: the #1 contributor to AMR death gobally
10-year commitment to end #1 cause of death from AMR: Drug-resistant tuberculosis
For nearly 20 years, both in our laboratories and on the ground in countries impacted by TB and MDR-TB, Johnson & Johnson has been supporting global efforts to end TB and combat AMR.
Partnering to find novel treatments for DR-TB
A new global collaboration of philanthropic, non-profit and private sector organizations will work together to accelerate the development of novel TB treatment regimens for all TB patients. The global collaboration aims to create treatment regimens comprised of medicines to which there is limited or no drug resistance and that are ready for phase 3 development. The regimens could be an important step toward addressing the current global challenges around TB treatment complexity, and the diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant TB.
Accelerating early-stage science to develop and deliver new TB treatments from the lab to the lastmMile
J&J Centers for Global Health Discovery (J&J Centers) are a new cornerstone of the Company’s efforts to solve the world’s most pressing health challenges The first J&J Satellite Center is hosted at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and focused on addressing the threat of antimicrobial resistance and tuberculosis J&J Centers will include collaborations with renowned academic institutions that accelerate potentially lifesaving innovations from the lab to the last mile
Latest news
Johnson & Johnson is proud to lead efforts to outpace antimicrobial resistance
The company’s efforts seek to address this rising public health threat and protect the backbone of modern medicine
Johnson & Johnson launches network of global health discovery centers that aim to speed up science and tackle pandemic threats
J&J Centers for Global Health Discovery (J&J Centers) are a new cornerstone of the Company’s efforts to solve the world’s most pressing health challenges The first J&J Satellite Center is hosted at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and focused on addressing the threat of antimicrobial resistance and tuberculosis J&J Centers will include collaborations with renowned academic institutions that accelerate potentially lifesaving innovations from the lab to the last mile
Johnson & Johnson announces five initiatives to help find the ‘Missing Millions’ of undiagnosed people living with tuberculosis
Three out of 10 people with TB go undiagnosed and untreated, a situation exacerbated by health disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic Collaborating with the Global Fund, USAID, PATH and others will help more people access TB care These initiatives build on Johnson & Johnson’s longstanding commitment to tackling TB and addressing health inequity in high-burden countries
1 Antimicrobial Resistance. World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance. Last accessed: October 2021.
2 Pelfrene, E., et al. Antimicrobial multidrug resistance in the era of COVID-19: a forgotten plight?. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control 10, 21 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-021-00893-z. Last accessed: November 2021.
3 Review on antimicrobial resistance. Tackling drug-resistant infections globally: Final report and recommendations. Available at: https://amr-review.org/sites/default/files/160525_Final%20paper_with%20cover.pdf. Last accessed: October 2021.
*NOTE: The statistics around infections and deaths caused by ExPEC are based on figures in the U.S. which have been multiplied by a factor of 22, extrapolating the U.S. figure to a global population figure.