Oluwatobi Adu 
ABUJA, Nigeria – The World Health Organization (WHO) has introduced new global targets aimed at accelerating the development of critical antibiotics to combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The guidance, released Wednesday in Geneva, outlines three Target Product Profiles (TPPs) designed to guide scientists, pharmaceutical companies and investors in developing urgently needed antibacterial medicines.
The new targets focus on treatments for multidrug-resistant Gram-negative infections, antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive infections affecting critically ill patients, and bacterial meningitis in both community and hospital settings.
According to WHO, these infections are associated with high mortality rates and place immense pressure on healthcare systems worldwide.
WHO Director for Antimicrobial Resistance Dr Yvan Hutin warns that the global pipeline of new antibiotics remains insufficient to tackle evolving drug-resistant bacteria.
“The scientific community has developed and approved new antibiotics in recent years. This is good, but unfortunately not sufficient to catch up with evolving drug-resistant bacteria,” Hutin says.
He adds that the world urgently needs innovative, affordable and accessible antibiotics to address the growing resistance crisis.
Although around 90 antibacterial agents are currently in preclinical and clinical development globally, WHO says only a small number target the most dangerous drug-resistant pathogens.
The initiative forms part of a broader partnership between WHO and the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) under the EU4Health programme.
Officials say the new guidance will help channel research funding towards priority infections such as bloodstream infections, pneumonia and meningitis.
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Hussaini Ibrahim 
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