US-BASED pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has announced it is in collaboration with OpenAI to harness generative AI for developing antimicrobials to combat drug-resistant bacteria, reported Reuters.
Public health authorities, including the World Health Organization, have highlighted the urgent need for new treatments to address antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also called superbugs.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites evolve to resist drugs, poses a significant challenge, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of severe illness and death.
The estimated annual impact of AMR on the Australian economy by 2050 will be between A$142 billion and A$283 billion, according to the Outbreak Consortium funded by the Department of Health.
In the US, over 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur annually.
Globally, AMR is on track to claim 10 million lives per year and put at risk a cumulative US$100 trillion (A$150 trillion) of economic output if no action is taken by 2050.
Lilly has also pledged US$100 million (A$150 million) to the AMR Action Fund.
The US$1 billion (A$1.5 billion) fund aims to bring two to four new antibiotics to patients by 2030, supporting manufacturers in addressing the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. JG
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