An expert panel is proposing an innovative model to ensure Canada has a stable supply of high-value antimicrobial medications in the future.

The new report, co-authored by Jean-Éric Tarride, a professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact and McMaster’s Chair of Health Technology Management, suggests that the global pipeline of new antimicrobial medications isn’t keeping pace with the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a phenomenon through which disease-causing microbes evolve to resist antibiotics and other medicines.

While several countries have taken steps toward improving access to novel antimicrobials, the panel argues that Canada is lagging well behind its peers in this space. According to the report, of 18 new antibiotics launched globally between 2010 to 2019, only three are marketed in Canada as of May 2023.

“There are two purposes to this report,” says Tarride. “We are proposing a model that will not only bring novel antimicrobials to Canada that aren’t currently here, but also ensure that there are antimicrobials in the pipeline that can be launched in Canada in the future.”

The report, published by the Council of Canadian Academies and sponsored by the Public Health Agency of Canada, determines that subscription-based pull incentives would help drive research, development and commercialization of novel antimicrobials in Canada.

Tarride says these “pull incentives” would provide drug manufacturers with a predictable return on their investment, which would both attract them to the Canadian market and incentivize renewed activity in the R&D of antimicrobials.

The report notes that many pharmaceutical companies have abandoned or neglected the antimicrobial market due to the revenue-restricting realities of short-course prescriptions, strict stewardship limits, and the always-looming threat of AMR; however, Tarride and the panel believe that their proposed subscription model, which would provide a fixed annual payment to manufacturers regardless of sales, would revitalize the market both here in Canada and globally.

“This is a global issue,” Tarride says. “The pipeline is dry and companies are not investing in antimicrobial development, so we have to create incentives to correct this. If Canada is to adopt a model like this and participate in a global pull incentive, we will join other countries such as the UK, Sweden, the US, and Japan in signaling that there is desire to invest in these high-value medications.”

Visit www.cca-reports.ca to read the report.