Because of the economic burden of Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and its contribution to morbidity and mortality, it is gaining more political attention for which the encouragement of antibiotic research and development has a vital role. Although the financial incentives like market entry rewards (MERs) to accelerate research towards development of new antibiotics are considered, there is lack of focus on the sustainability of efficacy of these new antibiotics in the market due to the injudicious use of antibiotics in different sectors. While governments and health services are promoting wise use of antibiotics by different programs like “antimicrobial stewardship program”, pharmaceutical companies are incentivized to increase volume of sales to maximize profits. It is essential for the pharmaceutical industry to fully incorporate the stewardship program as they develop and introduce the drugs to the market.

An antibiotic susceptibility bonus (ASB) would manage industry efforts toward more focused, prudent use that protects long-term product efficacy and avoids profit-driven product promotion as it reduces the dependence on high volume sales. Adding ASB into an MER would provide three benefits such as, i) the ASB would help counter the incentive to prioritize sales over longer-term efficacy, ii) the ASB would help to guide firms to advance candidate products that show the greatest likelihood of long-lasting effectiveness and iii) the ASB would help to protect the MER mechanism.

To read the entire article, please visit the website of the Journal of Antibiotics (Link)