The World Health Organisation has once again raised the alarm over the serious lack of new antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance is an increasing public health problem in hospitals across the EU and beyond. Although significant efforts are being made to treat those

antibiotic-resistant diseases, bacteria are still capable of developing resistance to the action of antibiotics.

Antimicrobial resistance could lead to the deaths of up to 10 million people per year by 2050. At present, this phenomenon is the main cause of 700 000 deaths per year, of which 50 000 in Europe and the United States. It is therefore necessary to develop new research programmes in order to discover some effective antibiotic-resistant drugs.

What tools can the Commission use in order to increase the number of research and development programmes for new antibiotics?