Overview

• Antibiotic resistance leads to 35,000 deaths annually in the EU, with the effectiveness of current medications increasingly compromised.
• Since 2017, only twelve new antibiotics have been approved, with most facing existing resistance issues.
• Experts warn of a regression to pre-penicillin times if new, resistance-breaking antibiotics are not developed.
• Pharmaceutical firms are abandoning antibiotic production due to unprofitable returns, exacerbating the crisis.
• Proposed EU measures suggest extending exclusive marketing rights for other drugs to fund antibiotic research.