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Jim O'Neill welcomes support for global action over microbial resistance

Xinhua, April 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

Jim O'Neill, the chairman of the UK Review on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), has welcomed comments made by UK chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne supporting global action to beat drug resistance.

Osborne echoed the Review's warning of the scale of the future human and economic costs of failing to tackle rising drug resistance, predicted to cause 10 million deaths globally each year, at a cumulative cost to global GDP of 100 trillion U.S. dollars.

Osborne made his comments in Washington DC as finance ministers gathered for the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

He endorsed the Review's recommendations to support antibiotic development through a system of global market entry rewards, large lump sum payments to the developers of new antibiotics that meet a specified unmet medical need.

O'Neill, the former Goldman Sachs economist who coined the acronym BRICs for leading emerging market economies, said in a statement: "I am delighted that the chancellor has decided to raise this important global issue with his counterparts at the IMF, as I believe that the support and buy-in from finance ministers will be key to mounting an effective response to the challenge."

"He is right that 2016 can be a breakthrough year in beating rising drug resistance, and discussions at the UN General Assembly and G20 in the autumn could be pivotal to achieving real, global action," added O'Neill.

O'Neill also welcomed Osborne's support for new ways to incentivize the development of new antibiotics and diagnostics.

"This is a vital part of the wider solution to rising drug resistance, alongside reducing unnecessary demand for antimicrobials while ensuring affordable access to patients who do need them," said O'Neill. Enditem