Briefing March 7: Fixing the Broken Antibiotic Market

On March 7, The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Infectious Diseases Society of America will co-sponsor a briefing on the need for economic incentives to spur the development of urgently needed new antibiotics. The event comes at the end of this year’s Stand Up to Superbugs fly-in and aims to inform congressional staff members about policies to reinvigorate the antibiotic pipeline.

Patients and doctors are increasingly facing infections that do not respond to existing antibiotics. Meanwhile, major pharmaceutical companies are backing away from developing new types of these drugs because of a lack of return on their investment. Featured panelists—including an infectious disease doctor who’s also a professor, as well as leaders in antibiotic development—will discuss what needs to be done to address the problem as well as potential solutions.

Speakers

Helen Boucher, M.D., fellow and treasurer, Infectious Diseases Society of America; director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program at Tufts Medical Center; professor of medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine

Manos Perros, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, Entasis Therapeutics

Jenelle S. Krishnamoorthy, Ph.D., associate vice president, global policy, communications, and population health, Merck & Co., Inc.

Allan Coukell, senior director for health programs, The Pew Charitable Trusts (moderator)