Glenn S Tillotson
Cempra Pharmaceuticals, USA
Title: Globalization of the unmet need of new antibiotics
Biography
Biography: Glenn S Tillotson
Abstract
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is an escalating problem. There are significant efforts expanded in the battle to combat this problem. Recent infectious diseases have hit the media especially viral infections such as Ebola, Zika and currently Yellow Fever. The dissemination of these infections is especially worrying but we seem to have played down the bacterial diseases. However, with increasing travel and the growing crisis of refugees it is obvious that the transfer of resistant bacterial infections is highly likely or under-appreciated. Recent examples include azithromycin resistant Shigella sonnei infections; NDM-1 Klebsiella pneumoniae and other pathogens were from overseas. Additionally resistant infections may transfer within a country where there may be marked susceptibility differences. So what may be the implications of this situation? Companies both small and large are developing antibiotics to combat this issue are faced with multiple regulatory processes. These can be challenging both in terms of completion and in terms of costs. As these issues become more global, there needs to be a mechanism by which a streamlined development process applied so each country or region does not need to repeat or require their own unique evaluations to approve a new antibiotic. The clock is ticking and we are running out of options and as we travel more this can only get worse.
