health
March 10, 2026
Pipeline of new drugs to fight superbugs is ‘worryingly thin’, experts warn
UK’s GSK is leading the way in research but AstraZeneca is not involved in the area, report finds
TL;DR
- The number of antimicrobial projects in development has decreased by 35% over five years, from 92 to 60.
- Global deaths from drug-resistant infections are projected to double from 4 million to 8 million by 2050.
- Only five medicines are in development for children under five.
- The UK's GSK leads in antimicrobial research with 30 projects.
- The Fleming Initiative predicts up to 10 million deaths from drug-resistant infections by 2050.
- One in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections were resistant to antibiotics in 2023.
- Over 40% of antibiotics lost potency against common infections between 2018 and 2023.
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