he 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
The increase in hospitalizations and antibiotic use to treat COVID-19 may futher exacerbate AMR2, estimated to cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050.3 At Johnson & Johnson, we are a leader in advancing innovation that can potentially outpace AMR infections. From the lab to the last mile, we are committed to developing and responsibly deploying innovative technologies and treatments to combat the growing threat of AMR on multiple fronts.
Antimicrobial resistant pathogens can cause local outbreaks or be carried within and across national borders. While AMR can affect everyone, everywhere, the causes and consequences of AMR differ in developing and emerging markets compared to developed countries.
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
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.
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.
In July 2020, Johnson & Johnson and more than 20 of our peers invested in the AMR Action Fund, a $1+ billion fund to accelerate innovative antibiotic candidates through the complex later stages of research, development and delivery to patients. The AMR Fund is a ground-breaking partnership to bridge the funding gap in AMR and aims to bring 2 to 4 new antibiotics to patients by the end of the decade. As a founding partner, J&J committed $100 million to the Fund. Together, we can work together to safeguard our future from this global threat.
*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.
