Dr. Alm to lead CARB-X R&D strategy to accelerate the development of life-saving antibacterial products
(BOSTON: July 15, 2026) – Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) today announced that Richard Alm, Ph.D., has been appointed Chief of Research and Development (R&D) following a competitive global recruitment process. Dr. Alm’s scientific leadership and expertise will play a key role in advancing CARB-X’s mission of accelerating antibacterial innovation from early development to clinical evaluation.
As Chief of R&D, Dr. Alm will guide the organization’s product development strategy and oversee a global R&D team responsible for identifying and accelerating the early-stage development of innovative solutions to address antimicrobial resistance. He will also lead the translation of global health priorities into public funding calls, helping ensure that CARB-X’s portfolio remains aligned with evolving scientific advances and public health needs. Dr. Alm joins the CARB-X executive team to strengthen the public-private partnership’s scientific impact and ensure CARB-X-supported projects are best positioned for successful progression into clinical development, regulatory pathways, and health systems around the world.
“I’m thrilled to become CARB-X’s next Chief of R&D,” said Dr. Alm. “Over the past decade, CARB-X has bolstered the global antibacterial innovation pipeline by supporting groundbreaking science to diagnose, treat, and prevent drug-resistant infections. Looking ahead, we are leveraging our experience and insights from the AMR ecosystem to build an even stronger pipeline of diverse products to address the critical threat of antimicrobial resistance. I’m excited to collaborate with our team and partners around the world to identify promising innovations and advance them closer to the patients who need them.”
Dr. Alm has more than 30 years of experience in antibacterial R&D. During a decades-long tenure at AstraZeneca, he led multidisciplinary teams responsible for discovering and advancing novel antibacterial compounds toward clinical development. He later joined Macrolide Pharmaceuticals as Vice President of Biology and served as the Principal Investigator of a CARB-X-supported program before bringing his expertise to CARB-X in 2019.
Throughout his time at CARB-X, Dr. Alm has contributed to the R&D team in multiple roles. He directly supported therapeutic product developers as an Alliance Lead, championed the creation of several CARB-X Portfolio Acceleration Tools to support the enterprise portfolio as Chief Scientific Officer, and has served as interim Chief of R&D since October 2025.
“Richard’s deep institutional knowledge, combined with decades of experience in antibacterial R&D, make him exceptionally well-positioned to lead our scientific strategy and accelerate our portfolio that has the potential to save lives around the world,” said CARB‑X Executive Director Kevin Outterson. “By strengthening and advancing the global pipeline of antibacterial products, CARB‑X is helping to bend the curve in antibiotic innovation—improving the odds of more promising solutions reaching patients.”
Recent estimates project that AMR could cause 39 million deaths over the next 25 years. A sustained pipeline of new antibiotics for Gram-negative infections, an area where CARB-X has made significant investments over the past decade, could save an estimated 11.1 million lives. The development of new preventatives and diagnostics could save even more lives. Through investments in innovative preventative and diagnostic projects, CARB-X is helping build a broad pipeline of solutions to address AMR.
When CARB-X was founded in 2016, the early-stage antibiotic pipeline was stalled. Since then, CARB-X has supported 123 R&D projects in 15 countries, and CARB-X product developers have made significant progress: 28projects have advanced into or completed clinical trials; 17 remain active in clinical development, including late-stage clinical trials; and three products have reached the market. Additionally, more than 10 product developers with active R&D projects have already secured advanced development partnerships which can help support their clinical development after leaving the CARB-X portfolio. All CARB-X-funded product developers are contractually obligated to develop a Stewardship and Access Plan for their product, outlining strategies to Ensure responsible stewardship and appropriate access in low- and middle-income countries.
CARB-X is funded 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 (BARDA) under agreement number 75A50122C00028 and by awards from Wellcome (WT224842), the UK Department of Health and Social Care’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), the Gates Foundation, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Public Health Agency of Canada, (PHAC), Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), Japan’s Ministry of Health, the European Commission’s DG Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (DG HERA), and KfW Development Bank. 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 publication 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 the most serious, resistant bacteria identified on global priority lists, syndromes with the greatest global morbidity and mortality, and performance characteristics necessary for patients. 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 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 needed to combat health security threats. BARDA is one of the leading public sector funders of advanced development of antimicrobial therapeutics and diagnostics worldwide, having invested more than $2.7 billion in antimicrobial products since 2010. This investment has supported the development of over 190 antimicrobial products and led to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of six new antibiotics and FDA 510(k) clearance of 10 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.
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 Research, Technology, and Space and Research (BMFTR)
Research and innovation are the foundations for our future. The promotion of science and research by BMFTR represents an important contribution to securing Germany’s prosperity. Research is a German Federal Government policy priority, which is reflected in the development of the funding it is making available to these fields.
About the Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF)
The Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) is a One Health 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 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. www.novonordiskfonden.dk/en
About the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Italy
The Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) performs the functions and tasks incumbent on the State in matters of economic and financial policy, budgeting, public investment planning and public debt management. The Ministry’s activities include coordinating and monitoring public spending and its trends, tax policies and the tax system and state assets. Moreover, the Ministry represents the Italian Government in the main European and international economic and financial fora, performs functions related to global governance and international financial cooperation, maintains relations with international economic, monetary, and financial institutions (such as the IMF, OECD, and Multilateral Development Banks), and negotiates and concludes international agreements and treaties with economic and financial content.
About the Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)
MHLW is a ministry of the Government of Japan whose missions are to improve and promote social welfare, social security, and public health in order to secure and improve the livelihoods of the people and contribute to economic development. Recognizing the urgent global public health threat posed by AMR, MHLW has been supporting various domestic and international efforts to advance research and development of antimicrobials. MHLW has committed to providing contributions to CARB-X from 2024 to 2026.
About the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (DG HERA)
DG HERA is part of the European Commission, is responsible for ensuring the availability and accessibility of medical countermeasures needed to respond to cross-border health threats. It plays a central role in strengthening the EU’s preparedness and resilience against antimicrobial resistance and other health emergencies.
About KfW Development Bank
KfW is one of the world’s leading promotional banks and a key implementing partner of the German Federal Government. It finances and manages programmes that foster sustainable economic and social development and strengthen global health security, including through support for public–private partnerships and innovation in medical countermeasures.
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 one of the largest private residential universities in the United States. BU consists of 17 schools and colleges, along with the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences and 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 leading research universities in the United States and Canada. For further information, please contact Meridith St. Jean at stjean28@bu.edu. www.bu.edu