CARB-X reports new products and partners to address antimicrobial resistance
(BOSTON: April 30, 2024) – CARB-X published its 2023 Annual Report today. The report highlights key takeaways from the strategic review of the portfolio, funding round results, CARB-X’s work in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and new CARB-X donors including the Government of Canada and the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
2023 saw the close of CARB-X’s Omnibus Funding Round focused on three themes: oral therapeutics, vaccines for neonatal sepsis and gonorrhea products. CARB-X received 185 grant applications from around the world. Several trends emerged, including:
- Rapid diagnostics expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving product developers poised to capitalize on their investments by embracing new sample types and pathogens;
- More than half of therapeutics applicants were in the hit-to-lead stage, reinforcing the evident dearth of oral therapeutics in the clinical and preclinical pipelines; and
- CARB-X received expressions of interest from the vaccine community in response to the lack of vaccines in development for K. pneumoniae, ExPEC, S. aureus, A baumannii, and N. gonorrhoeae.
“Like CARB-X, the Novo Nordisk Foundation is committed to driving innovation in the fight against drug-resistant infections,” said Peter Lawætz Andersen, Senior Vice President, Infectious Diseases, at the Novo Nordisk Foundation. “By partnering, we can help ensure that the best research gets translated into effective, scalable and affordable medical interventions that can help end this growing pandemic.”
In the second half of 2023, CARB-X conducted a thorough refresh of the first strategic portfolio review in 2020. Results from this review informed the 2024 funding call and underscored CARB-X’s commitment to address the highest unmet needs.
“The review and refinement of our R&D priorities in 2023 marks our commitment to action — ensuring our investments can make the most significant impact possible,” said Erin Duffy, PhD, Chief of R&D at CARB-X. “As we address the most burdensome infections worldwide, we need valuable input from stakeholders across the globe to fine-tune our strategy that drives life-saving innovation. We look forward to continuing these conversations and expanding our outreach to mold our evolving R&D strategy.”
In late summer, CARB-X announced renewed financial commitments from the UK and German governments. In addition, new funding partnerships with the Canadian government and the Novo Nordisk Foundation were announced. These commitments, paired with the ongoing support from BARDA, Wellcome, and NIAID, brought crucial resources to the CARB-X portfolio in 2023.
“Multi-year funding renewals from the German and UK governments, paired with two new commitments from the Canadian government and Novo Nordisk Foundation, serve as a testament of the critical role that CARB-X plays to develop the next generation of antibacterial tools globally,” said Kevin Outterson, Executive Director of CARB-X and Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Law at Boston University. “However, we remain cognizant of the multibillion-dollar funding gap for early-stage R&D today. With a shared vision of a healthier future for all, we look forward to continuing our work with partners in the antibacterial innovation chain to close this gap and bring innovative tools to everyone who needs them.”
CARB-X funding for this research is supported by federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; under agreement number 75A50122C00028, and by awards from Wellcome (WT224842), Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the UK Department of Health and Social Care as part of the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in HHS, provides support in the form of in-kind services through access to a suite of preclinical services for product development. The content of this press release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of any CARB-X funders.
CARB-X Contact: Marissa Novel, carbxpr@bu.edu
About CARB-X
CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) is a global non-profit partnership dedicated to supporting early-stage antibacterial research and development to address the rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria. CARB-X supports innovative therapeutics, preventatives and rapid diagnostics. CARB-X is led by Boston University and funded by a consortium of governments and foundations. CARB-X funds only projects that target drug-resistant bacteria highlighted on the CDC’s Antibiotic Resistant Threats list, or the Priority Bacterial Pathogens list published by the WHO, with a priority on those pathogens deemed Serious or Urgent on the CDC list or Critical or High on the WHO list. https://carb-x.org/ | X (formerly Twitter) @CARB_X
About BARDA and NIAID
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services works to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans, providing for effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) leads the nation’s medical and public health preparedness for, response to and recovery from disaster and other public health emergencies. Within ASPR, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) invests in innovation, advanced research and development, acquisition, and manufacturing of medical countermeasures – vaccines, drugs, therapeutics, diagnostic tools, and non-pharmaceutical products – needed to combat health security threats and is one of the leading public sector funders of advanced development of antimicrobial therapeutics and diagnostics.
As part of HHS, NIH is the primary U.S. federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. NIAID conducts and supports research — at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide — to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website.
About Wellcome
Wellcome supports science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone. We support discovery research into life, health and wellbeing, and we’re taking on three worldwide health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health.
About the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Education and research are crucial foundations for our future. Thus, the promotion of education, science and research is a policy priority of the German Federal Government. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) strengthens education at all stages of life and provides support for scientific research and innovation.
About the Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF)
The Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) is a One Health UK aid fund that supports research and development around the world to reduce the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans, animals and the environment for the benefit of people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). GAMRIF core objectives are to develop innovative One Health solutions to tackle AMR; increase availability of context-specific, accessible, and affordable innovations for LMICs; establish international research partnerships with industry, academia, and governments; and collaborate with and leverage additional funding from other global donors.
About the Public Health Agency of Canada
The Public Health Agency of Canada is an agency of the Government of Canada that is responsible for public health, emergency preparedness and response, and infectious and chronic disease control and prevention. Created in 2004 with a mission to promote and protect the health of Canadians through leadership, partnership, innovation and action in public health, the Agency’s activities focus on preventing disease and injuries, responding to public health threats, promoting good physical and mental health, and providing information to support informed decision making. The Agency has a long history of working with domestic and international partners on combatting health threats, including AMR. Most recently, the Agency released the Pan-Canadian Action Plan on AMR, a multijurisdictional effort that emphasizes One Health collaboration to make progress on AMR.
About the Novo Nordisk Foundation
Established in Denmark in 1924, the Novo Nordisk Foundation is an enterprise foundation with philanthropic objectives. The vision of the Foundation is to improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet. The Foundation’s mission is to progress research and innovation in the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic and infectious diseases as well as to advance knowledge and solutions to support a green transformation of society.
About Boston University
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With nearly 37,000 students, it is the third-largest independent university in the United States. BU consists of 17 schools and colleges and the interdisciplinary Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes integral to the University’s research and teaching mission. In 2012, BU joined the Association of American Universities (AAU), a consortium of 71 leading research universities in the United States and Canada. For further information, please contact Kim Miragliuolo at kmira@bu.edu. www.bu.edu