Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) develops when infectious disease pathogens become resistant to existing medicines and is a significant public health threat. AMR has the potential to render diseases that are relatively easy to treat today virtually incurable, a problem that threatens developed and developing nations alike. Left unchecked, AMR could significantly eclipse the global health challenge that the world is facing currently with COVID-19. That’s why the pharmaceutical industry is taking collective and decisive action in the face of this predictable and preventable health security threat.
Johnson & Johnson is proud to join with more than 20 leading pharmaceutical companies to collectively invest nearly $1 billion through the AMR Action Fund with the goal of bringing 2-to-4 new antibiotics to patients by the end of the next decade. This is the largest collective venture ever created to address AMR, acknowledging that this is a challenge that requires immediate action. As a founding partner, we are committing $100 million to the Fund. Together, our industry can make a far greater impact than any single company, and we are proud to stand with our peers against this threat.
Our participation in the Fund builds on our long-term commitment to develop and responsibly deploy innovative technologies and treatments to combat the growing threat of AMR on multiple fronts. This commitment is exemplified in our work to tackle drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). DR-TB is responsible for one-third of all AMR-related deaths and is the world’s only airborne drug-resistant infection. Currently, a third of all people with DR-TB are not aware they are infected, posing a dangerous threat to public health and global health security.