antimicrobial resistance

Imagine a shape-shifting pathogen invisible to the naked eye, armed with toxin-laced barbs that rupture human cells. This isn’t fiction—it’s Clostridioides difficile, a superbug causing 29,000 U.S. deaths annually through severe diarrhea and colitis. After an initial infection, up to 35% of patients experience recurrence, with subsequent episodes becoming increasingly likely—up to 60% of these…

Clostridioides difficile, commonly known as C. diff, is a significant health threat in the U.S. Recent estimates suggest that C. diff, a common bacteria, can cause infection in roughly 500,000 patients annually in the U.S., with around 30,000 of these cases resulting in death. “Actually, it’s more like 5 million when you think about it…

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global threat that, without intervention, could lead to as many as 10 million deaths annually by 2050.1 Unfortunately, the development of new antibiotics that could combat this risk is a significantly underinvested area, with few new treatments in the pipeline, and other therapy areas currently offering more attractive opportunities for…

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) has announced its plans to spend £1 billion over the next ten years on R&D focused on infectious diseases that disproportionately affect lower-income countries. Diseases covered in the research will include malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The HIV focus will be through ViiV Healthcare, a joint…

Before Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, another more selective antibacterial agent rose to popularity in the early 1900s: bacteriophage. In 1917, microbiologist Felix d’Herelle was tasked with identifying the cause of a dysentery outbreak impacting French troops. From his research, he noticed that Shigella bacteria was the primary culprit of this affliction. He then discovered an…