Before antibiotics were discovered, the average life expectancy at birth was around 47 years. Infectious diseases like cholera, diphtheria, pneumonia, otitis, urinary tract infections and wound infections led to high rates of illness, disability and death.
The discovery of antibiotics in the 1930s led to a dramatic increase in life expectancy. Antibiotics made infectious diseases that were previously fatal or disabling easily treatable. For example, the survival rate for bacterial pneumonia increased from 20% to 85% between 1937 and 1964. Similarly, before antibiotics, infant mortality was around one in 20. Today, it’s 3.5 deaths per 1,000 live births in the U.S. Antibiotics are the cornerstone of medicine.
That cornerstone is about to crumble.
Bacteria exist today that are no longer susceptible to any antibiotics on the market. Currently in the U.S., one person dies every 15 minutes from an antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) infection, and globally around 4.95 million deaths per year are attributed to it. By 2050, approximately 10 million people will die each year due to AMR infections, more than cancer or heart disease.
So, what is the answer? The world needs a revolving pipeline of new antibiotics and other therapeutics. Unfortunately, the large majority of pharmaceutical companies and venture capital funds no longer support antibiotic research and development (R&D). In addition, although well-funded social impact funds and governments are moving to fund antibiotic R&D more fully, they are moving at a snail’s pace. In the meantime, small biotech companies that are responsible for 90% of antibiotic R&D are struggling, and many companies go bankrupt each year. Kevin Outterson, Executive Director of CARB-X, a nonprofit organization funding antibiotic development, recently predicted that the pipeline of new antibiotics will fail in four to eight years. Most of us will live to see that happen (or won’t, if we are one of the millions who die each year from AMR infections).
The issue of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria should concern all of us. It is literally referred to as the silent pandemic, but it will not remain silent for long.
If you are reading this article and would like to help, you can. You can wash your hands with soap and water to limit the spread of AMR bacteria. You can ask your healthcare provider if antibiotics are really necessary to treat your illness, and if they are, take them as prescribed. You can reach out to your congressperson and ask him or her to support the PASTEUR Act, which will help provide an incentive for pharmaceutical companies and investors to return to funding antibiotic development. You can donate to a number of nonprofit companies developing antibiotics and if you are an investor, invest in them. You are investing in your future, your children’s future and the future of humanity as we know it.
A world without effective antibiotics is simply not one we can afford.