The World Health Organization (WHO) released a list of antibiotic-resistant priority pathogens that agency officials believe are the greatest threat to human health and should be the target of research and development for the development of new antimicrobial agents.
On February 27, 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a list of antibiotic-resistant priority pathogens that agency officials believe are the greatest threat to human health and should be the target of research and development for the development of new antimicrobial agents capable of combat these organisms.
“The major objective of the global PPL is to guide the prioritization of incentives and funding, help align R&D priorities with public health needs and support global coordination in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The WHO PPL targets policy initiatives to incentivize basic science and advanced R&D by both public funding agencies and the private sector investing in new antibiotics.”
Based on a series of criteria including mortality, impact on the healthcare and community, prevalence of resistance, resistance trends, transmissibility, treatability, and current development pipeline, the list is divided into Critical, High, and Medium priority:
WHO priority pathogens for R&D of new antibiotics
Priority 1: Critical
Acinetobacter baumanni, carbapenem-resistant
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, carbapenem-resistant
Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant, 3rd generation cephalosporin-resistant
Priority 2: High
Enterococcus faecium, vancomycin resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant, vancomycin-intermediate and resistant
Helicobacter pylori, clarithromycin-resistant
Campylobacter, fluoroquinolone-resistant
Salmonella, fluoroquinolone-resistant
Neisseria gonorrheae, 3rd generation cephalosporin-resistant, fluoroquinolone-resistant
Priority 3: Medium
Streptococcus pneumoniae, penicillin non-susceptible
Haemophilus influenzae, ampicillin-resistant
Shigella species, fluoroquinolone-resistant
Some organizations have criticized the report for the exclusion of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from the list. Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO assistant director-general for health systems and innovation, responded that Mycobacterium tuberculosis is already considered the most important priority for R&D for new antibiotics and it is targeted by other well-funded programs.
For a full text of the report follow the link: Global Priority List of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria to Guide Research, Discovery, and Development of New Antibiotics.
