Since the discovery of the first antibiotic, penicillin, antimicrobial drugs have become a savior of the healthcare system, helping in the treatment of life-threatening infectious diseases. The repetitive use of antibiotics to treat diseases leads to antimicrobial resistance—potentially affecting the treatment and resulting in a higher mortality rate. The development of multi-drug resistance not only affects patients with infectious diseases but also greatly impacts medical procedures. The phenomena of antibiotic resistance have become a global concern and have to be addressed on an urgent basis. Hence, there is a requirement for a novel therapeutic drug that helps to overcome the problem of antibiotic resistance.
Drug development, especially to tackle antibiotic resistance, is a challenging process. It requires drug designing, innovative solutions, clinical trial, approval, licensure, and final commercialization—taking ages and even decades, followed by enormous investment. By emphasizing on all unique challenges, the antibiotics market has to come up with innovative approaches, collaborations, and enrollment tech-driven tools to speed up drug development and mitigate the risk of antimicrobial resistance. Driven by the factors and key challenges, it is expected that the global market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 1.2%.
Antibiotic Resistance: How Bacteria Transform into Superbugs
Pathogens turn into multi-drug resistant bacteria either due to spontaneous mutation or transfer of resistance genes. The four major mechanism by which bacteria begins to resist antibiotics includes:
▪ Modification of targeted sites
▪ Antibiotic efflux through efflux transporters
▪ Destruction and modification of the antibiotics
▪ Reduction in the antibiotic influx due to decreased membrane permeability.
Typically, when bacteria develop antibiotic resistance, the same drug is used for a prolonged time for the treatment of infection. The development of antimicrobial resistance creates a significant impact on the treatment, often leading to the death of the patient. It is worth noting that antibiotic resistance also impacts medical procedures that require antibiotics, such as organ transplants, cancer treatment, chemotherapies, and more.
Current Antibiotic Market Landscape
The bacterial infection leads to the death of the patient, especially if caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria. The current antibiotic market is facing challenges, including antibiotic shortage, specifically penicillin shortage, the emergence of antimicrobial resistance, and concern regarding resistance toward upcoming therapeutic drugs. To address the concern, pharmaceuticals are shifting to prove active efforts in designing, researching, and developing safe antibiotics. With the engagement of antibiotic market leaders such as GlaxoSmithKline, Melinta Therapeutics, Meiji Seika Pharma, Merck, and Pfizer in R&D (research and development) processes, the global antibiotic market will surely witness dynamic growth in the future. To initiate further research on novel therapeutics, the World Health Organization and United States Food and Drug Administration timely promote precise usage of antibiotics and support marketers who are actively finding solutions to combat antibiotic drug resistance.
Tech-Driven Approach Becomes the Key Driver of the Antibiotic Market
The development of a novel antibiotic to tackle antimicrobial resistance only becomes possible when researchers understand the harmony between what resources are available and what is required to solve the antibiotic resistance crisis. Some methodologies are still under development, and the key players in the antibiotic market have already adopted some innovative pathways. Examples of some technologies that pave the antibiotic development include:
▪ Next-Generation Sequencing Methods
Antibiotic market players are leveraging next-generation sequencing methods to understand the route of resistance within bacteria. The information helps researchers design target-specific antibiotics and engineer potential therapies that can combat antibiotic resistance and help patients with precise treatments.
▪ Artificial Intelligence Plays Huge Role
Artificial intelligence helps in data collection, becoming the R&D partner of the pharmaceutical industry. In ongoing clinical trials of antibiotics, artificial intelligence helps to fetch data in real-time; this saves plenty of time researchers invest in a collection of data manually, thereby cutting the cost of the development of antibiotics.
Non-Tech Driven Approach to Overcome Antibiotic Resistance Problem
Antibiotic market players are paying attention to another therapeutic, non-tech approach to overcome antimicrobial resistance.
▪ Nanoantibiotics: It uses metal oxide-based nanoparticles and metal-based nanoparticles combined with antibiotics. Nanoantibiotics have shown promising results in the treatment of diseases due to high antibacterial efficacy. Researchers are paying attention to nanoantibiotics as they create less toxicity and are regarded as promising therapeutic for future applications.
▪ Therapeutic Proteins: Advances in genetic engineering and next-generation sequencing has enabled researchers to develop bio-therapeutics or therapeutic proteins for the treatment of rare infectious diseases. Today, scientists are paying attention to leveraging target-specific therapies and prophylactic strategies to combat antibiotic resistance and fight against bacterial infection.
Top Antibiotic Market Players
To overcome the increasing emergence of antibiotic resistance, pharmaceutical companies collectively aim to develop novel drugs to treat patients with infections caused by multi-drug resistance bacteria. Examples of the key antibiotic market players who are finding a way to design therapeutic solutions include:
▪ ABAC Therapeutics
▪ Bayer
▪ Biocidium Biopharmaceuticals
▪ Blacksmith Medicines
▪ Crestone, Daiichi Sankyo
▪ Debiopharm
▪ Fujisawa Pharmaceutical
▪ GlaxoSmithKline
▪ Melinta Therapeutics
▪ Meiji Seika Pharma
▪ Merck
▪ Pfizer
▪ Qpex Biopharma
▪ Selmod
▪ Sinovent
▪ Spero Therapeutics
The Promising Future of the Antibiotic Market
Antibiotic resistance is widely recognized as a global issue and requires immediate attention. Though pharmaceutical players are coming up with strategic approaches and developing novel therapeutic drugs, the chances of the development of resistance are still high if superbugs continue to develop resistance. Despite the complexities, the antibiotic market underpins new clinical trials and incorporates technology to develop innovative therapeutic drugs to treat a patient with a wide range of infections. Several researchers are leveraging genetic engineering and recombinant technology to develop bioengineered probiotics with immunogenic properties to fight against antibiotic resistance. With the above-listed market trends and future perspective, it is anticipated that the antibiotic market will grow at a steady rate in the future.
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