Global Cause
Tiemo Wölken
MEP – S&D ENVI Coordinator, Member of the Committee on Public Health and Co-Chair of the MEP Interest Group on AMR
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remains one of the most pressing public health challenges of our time, claiming more than 35,000 lives each year in Europe alone.1
Beyond the human toll, its economic burden is staggering, costing the European Union an estimated €1.5 billion annually in healthcare expenses and productivity losses, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the OECD. Without urgent global action, AMR could cause up to 10 million deaths annually by 2050,2 threatening the very foundations of modern medicine.
Rethinking antibiotic incentives
Discussions around AMR rightly often focus on antibiotics, as reducing their unnecessary use remains essential. Awareness campaigns and responsible prescribing are crucial, but these must go hand in hand with the development of new antibiotics.
At the EU level, work is underway on new economic models, such as subscription-based payments or milestone rewards, which could help resolve the paradox in which the responsible, limited use of new antibiotics undermines investment incentives.
However, our focus should not rest solely on antibiotic incentives. An emerging ally in the fight against AMR is bacteriophages, or phages. These naturally occurring viruses specifically target bacteria, offering a promising and largely untapped medical countermeasure. Alongside incentivising R&D in antibiotics, a comprehensive approach to phages is needed, recognising their applications and potential to combat AMR across multiple sectors.
phages can complement or even replace antibiotics, particularly
against resistant infections such as MRSA, sepsis or chronic wounds.
Potential of phages in AMR response
In healthcare, phages can complement or even replace antibiotics, particularly against resistant infections such as MRSA, sepsis or chronic wounds. In veterinary medicine, they provide similar benefits for treating bacterial infections in animals. In diagnostics, engineered phages can rapidly and accurately identify specific bacteria.
Beyond medicine, phages can enhance food safety by reducing contamination from pathogens like listeria, Salmonella and E. coli, while also improving environmental health through targeted wastewater treatment.
The potential of phages is immense, but realising it requires a robust regulatory framework. Tackling AMR effectively demands a multi-pronged strategy, and phages can play a crucial role in Europe’s response to this global health challenge.
[1] European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. 2022. Assessing the health burden of infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the EU/EEA.
[2] Naghavi, Mosen et al. 2024. Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance 1990–2021: a systematic analysis with forecasts to 2050. The Lancet, Volume 404, Issue 10549, 1199–1226.
