Stimulating Research and Development of New Antibiotics While Ensuring Sustainable Use and Access: Further Insights from the DRIVE-AB Project and Others

Global discussions are ongoing on how to stimulate antibiotic research and development in order to provide patients with new antibiotics able to address the challenges of antimicrobial resistance. In this supplement, we present nine articles derived from the research performed as part of the Innovative Medicine Initiative-funded DRIVE-AB project and others. These publications provide new evidence and arguments in the debate around economic incentives to stimulate antibiotic innovation, including characteristics, implementation and governance.

Encouraging Sustainable Use of Antibiotics: A Commentary on the DRIVE-AB Recommended Innovation Incentives

The ability to sustain antibiotic efficacy is directly affected by incentive models aiming to stimulate antibiotic research and development. This paper analyzes the extent to which the models proposed by the Innovative Medicine Initiative-funded research project DRIVE-AB can be expected to support sustainable use, drawing on basic economic theory and the incentives that derive from it. It then discusses the use of minimal safeguards that will be needed to support sustainable use where industry incentives have not been re-aligned with those of public health.

Designing a Delinked Incentive for Critical Antibiotics: Lessons from Norway

No country has yet implemented a pilot to ensure access to or the innovation of new antibiotics for multi-drug infections. A team from national health agencies in Norway, with the support of the Innovative Medicine Initiative-funded project DRIVE-AB, designed a model suitable for the national context, including the selection of the antibiotics, the potential value, and the operational model.