Ever since penicillin was discovered in 1928, antibiotics, medicines used to prevent and treat bacterial infections, have made an enormous contribution to global health and diseases that were once deemed to be fatal have been successfully treated for decades.

The development of antibiotics is recognised as one of the greatest advances in therapeutic medicine.

Antibiotics have not only saved patients’ lives, they have played a pivotal role in achieving major advances in medicine and surgery. Life-saving medical procedures would not be successful without antibiotics. This is true also for cancer patients who are more vulnerable to infections, due to immunosuppression. Antibiotics are an indispensable part of cancer care. 1 in 5 cancer patients undergoing treatment are hospitalised due to infection, and antibiotics are the main defence.

However, the central role of antibiotics is now threatened by the increase and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a phenomenon known as antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotic resistance is a global crisis that risks reversing a century of progress in health and is attributed to the misuse of antibiotics, as well as poor infection prevention and control.
Once resistance emerges, it can spread into new settings and between countries facilitated by further antibiotic misuse, as well as by poor infection control practices.

Responsible use of newly approved antibiotics in patients in need, is hindered by the poor patient’s access to most of these newly approved antibiotics, including in high income countries.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recorded a steady increase in the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics.

More than 33,000 people die each year from an infection caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria and 75 % of this burden is due to infections acquired in healthcare settings. The impact of these infections, including mortality and healthcare cost, is comparable to that of influenza, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined.

The most disarming lesson of the COVID-19 pandemic is that, as long as we continue to consider infections as second-class diseases compared to cancer or cardiovascular disease, a virus will be enough to disrupt our economic, social and human system. There is no time to wait. Unless we do not act urgently, it has been estimated that by 2050, deaths from infections caused by resistant germs will exceed those from cancer.

Menarini commits to the fight against antibiotic resistance

Slowing the emergence of resistant bacteria and preventing the spread of resistant infections is a shared global goal, a goal to which Menarini is wholly committed through substantial economic investments to bring and make available innovative, life-saving antibiotics to patients in need and proactively working to raise awareness on this “silent pandemic”. 

Menarini has expanded its product portfolio with three new innovative, life-saving antibiotics in order to provide effective solutions to prevent and treat resistant infections, as well as to help reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with diseases caused by resistant bacterial strains.

Furthermore, Menarini launched the Infection in Focus portal in order to promote disease awareness. Infection in Focus has been developed with the endorsement of the Italian Antibiotic – Antiviral – Antifungal Society (SITA) and aims to increase awareness of antibiotic resistance and fight life-threatening bacterial infections, while giving voice to the stories of patients and caregivers that have previously been overlooked in this therapeutic area.

The contents of the website are available in Italian and English and are developed with a positive perspective, with the goal of raising awareness and proposing solutions rather than causing anxiety. The portal is also rich in multimedia content, available under the “Resources” section, where it is possible to find videos and infographics.

Infection in Focus also emphasises the importance of Stewardship, i.e. a comprehensive approach to promote and monitor appropriate use of antibiotics through “the optimal selection, dosage and duration of antimicrobial treatments that results in the best clinical outcome for the treatment or prevention of infection.”

“It is largely admitted today that AMR represents a critical and urgent global threat to both patients and our healthcare systems worldwide. In this challenging context, Menarini strives to maintain a bold and leading role in the fight against AMR. We take pride in our steadfast commitment to make new antibiotics available to all patients in need and support the responsible use of antibiotics.“ Elcin Barker Ergun – CEO – MENARINI Group