CIDRAP | A coalition of more than 20 leading pharmaceutical companies today announced the launch of a new fund to provide financial incentives to boost antibiotic development efforts and help the smaller companies engaged in much of the research on new, innovative drugs to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The AMR Action Fund will invest nearly $1 billion in smaller biotech companies with the aim of bringing two to four new antibiotics to market by 2030. Kevin Outterson, executive director of CARB-X, said the fund is “life-saving” for many of these companies, which are often looking to partner with larger companies with more money and technical knowledge once they get their products through phase 1 clinical trials. But it will not solve the underlying problems that plague the antibacterial market. Governments need to step up to create a stable marketplace for these antibiotics once they are approved.