PRESS RELEASE
27 October 2011
GOVERNMENT FACING TICKING TIME BOMB OVER LACK OF DESPERATELY NEEDED
ANTIBIOTICS
The government has been warned that the NHS faces a ticking time bomb over the lack of modern
antibiotics due to increasing resistance to infections, and must take immediate action to prevent an
unprecedented crisis, says a group of scientists and medical experts.
The situation is so grave that they believe urgent action is needed to accelerate the approved
licensing process for new antibiotics, adopting similar regulatory procedures that produced antiviral
therapies for the treatment of HIV/AIDS more speedily.
Professor Laura Piddock, President of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC),
warns that we face a near depletion of effective antibiotics which could have a devastating impact
on global health, and that we need to identify new ways of public/private partnership for their
discovery, research and development.
She says: “The magnitude of the crisis we face becomes apparent when we note that 16 new
antibacterial agents were approved and brought to market between 1983-1987, compared with
less than four agents between 2008-12.
“The dearth of new antibiotics reaching the marketplace today potentially threatens not only the
management of “superbugs”, such as NDM 1 producing E. coli and multi-drug resistant gonorrhoea,
but also the success of many routine treatments and procedures, from life-saving transplants and
cancer chemotherapy, to joint replacements and therapies for cystic fibrosis sufferers. I fear there
could be a return to a pre-antibiotic era where many people suffer or die from untreatable bacterial
infections.”
Recently, BSAC has launched a global initiative, Antibiotic Action, to highlight its grave concerns and
has already received over 3,000 signatures, plus considerable international support for its petition
which will be presented at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, 9 November.
The petition, which has been signed by researchers, scientists and clinicians working in the NHS, as
well as the public, calls upon the government to identify the following:
1. What opportunities exist to safely streamline and accelerate the licensing processes for new
antibiotic agents.
2. How to address and incentivise the commercial challenges faced by industry in developing and
bringing new antibiotics to the marketplace.
3. Initiatives to that will encourage greater partnership working between pharmaceutical and
diagnostics companies as well as academia in the UK in order to maximise the conversion of
discovered candidate molecules into licensed antibiotics available for use on the NHS.
Antibiotic Action has the support of MP Kevin Barron, who is hosting an event in Westminster on 9
November which is hoped will result in establishment of an All-Party Parliamentary Group on
Antimicrobial Discovery, Research and Development. There are also plans to table and Early Day
Motion at the event.
Mr Barron says: “Antibiotic Action is bringing together government with patient charities, partner
organisations and clinicians to discuss key drivers that will stimulate interest and investment in the
discovery and development of new antibiotics. I am supporting this initiative and look forward to
the future where we start to see positive collaborations in this very important area.”
The campaign is also supported by ITV’s Dr Hilary Jones, who will speak at the Antibiotic Action
parliamentary event on addressing the public need, and will also join supporters in delivering the
petition to 10 Downing Street.
He says: “As a general practitioner I am very aware of the essential role antibiotics play in ensuring
the health of our nation. Antibiotics not only combat mild bacterial infections that I see every
week in my GP surgery, but they are also vital in hospital practice. They not only save lives but have
a crucial role in improving the quality of life too. As patron of charities such as The Meningitis
Research Foundation, Diabetes UK and Bliss, I have met many people who simply would not have
survived without them.”
“Health practitioners are working hard to use antibiotics appropriately so that antibiotic resistance
does not reduce the number of effective treatments available. This is one small step in ensuring we
can treat infections – mild and life-threatening – in the future. There must be more action from all
to support the discovery and development of new agents.”
The media invited to attend the following events on Wednesday, 9 November:
Parliamentary launch: 1300 – 1500
Delivery of petition at 10 Downing Street: 1600
Please confirm with ellee.seymour@btopenworld if you would like to attend or request an
interview, phone 07939 811961
Ends:
Notes to Editors:
Further information is available from:
 Press Officer Ellee Seymour
Tel: 07939 811961
Email: ellee.seymour@btopenworld.com

Professor Laura Piddock
Tel: O121 414 6966
Email: l.j.v.piddock@bham.ac.uk
Laura Piddock is professor of microbiology at the University of Birmingham and leads a research team investigating
clinically important antibiotic resistance:
http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/iandi/piddock-laura.aspx
http://antimicrobialagentsresearchgroup.com/
Background
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The majority of antibiotics used today were discovered over 45 years ago.
1980 - more than 20 large, profitable companies had antibiotic discovery programmes 2011
only 6 remain.
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WHO listed infections due to resistant bacteria at the top of their preliminary ranking of
pharmaceutical gaps in 2004, above pandemic influenza cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
In EU in 2007 the cost of resistance to antibacterials calculated at 900 million euros
annually and 600 million days of lost productivity.
Reference papers:
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Discovery research: the scientific challenge of finding new antibiotics, David Livermore
http://www.bsac.org.uk/News/TUN
Effective antibacterials: at what cost? The economics of antibacterial resistance and its control, Tony
White http://www.bsac.org.uk/News/TUN
Please visit our website: http://antibiotic-action.com
Please support our petition: http://antibiotic-action.com/