Because of antibiotic resistance, many bacterial infections have become impossible to treat. New antibiotics are desperately needed to save patients' lives, but few new drugs are in pharmaceutical companies' research and development (R&D) pipelines. Low returns on investments and an unpredictable and often infeasible approval pathway at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have caused many companies to leave the antibiotics market.
IDSA is working to counter this decline through the 10 x '20 Initiative. The initiative seeks a global commitment to create an antibiotic R&D enterprise powerful enough to produce 10 new systemic antibiotics by the year 2020. This effort has the potential to save thousands of lives each year. To achieve our goal, IDSA is working with a broad range of stakeholders in the United States and globally. We need your help!
Contact your Congressional representative through our Advocacy Center to join our efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance.
If you or a loved one have been devastated by an antimicrobial resistant infection and you would like to share your story, please contact us!
Many patients and their families have suffered the debilitating effects of antibiotic-resistant infections, and more and more patients lose their lives due to these infections every day. The compelling and heart-wrenching stories below engender a strong sense of urgency to address drug-resistant infections and the lack of new antibiotic development.