The Novo Nordisk Foundation is committing up to USD 25 million to support the early-stage development of innovative tools to prevent, diagnose and treat the most dangerous drug-resistant bacterial infections.

The three-year grant will go to the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X), a global non-profit public-private partnership in this space.

The partnership plays a crucial role in moving promising ideas for cutting-edge antibacterial products from basic research to clinical development and through Phase 1 clinical trials, the collaborators state. Since 2016, CARB-X has funded 93 projects in 12 countries. Nineteen projects have advanced into or completed clinical trials; 12 remain active in clinical development, including late-stage clinical trials; and two diagnostic products have reached the market.

“Like CARB-X, the Novo Nordisk Foundation is committed to driving innovation in the fight against drug-resistant infections,” says Peter Lawætz Andersen, Senior Vice President, Infectious Diseases at the 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.”

A broader commitment

The grant is also part of a broader commitment from the Foundation and Novo Holdings to fight drug resistance through the development of innovative products. The organisations are engaged in a range of activities from early development to advocating for payment models that can help rejuvenate the market for antimicrobials. The Foundation is also funding a major new initiative – the Novo Nordisk Foundation Initiative for Vaccines and Immunity – that will reduce the use of antibiotics and thus the spread of AMR by developing vaccines against respiratory infections.

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