Swiss Inaction Threatens Global Antibiotic Development Push

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Switzerland is a major hub for pharmaceutical companies, but it has done little to encourage the development of new antibiotics – a shortfall that could have serious consequences at home and abroad. This content was published on July 8, 2025 - 09:00 9 minutes

I report on the Swiss pharmaceutical industry and healthcare topics such as access to medicine, biomedical innovation, and the impact of diseases like cancer. I grew up just outside San Francisco and studied international affairs with a focus on development economics and healthcare policy. Prior to joining SWI swissinfo in 2018, I was a freelance journalist and a researcher on business and human rights.

• More from this auth
• English Departme

I write original and in-depth data-driven articles using my skills in data analysis and visualisation. I cover a wide array of topics, among which are Switzerland's place in global trade, climate change and demographics. Born and raised in France, I studied international relations in Lyon, then graduated from Lille journalism school in 2011. I have been living in Switzerland since 2012 and worked at RTS for eight years before joining SWI swissinfo in 2020.

• More from this auth
• French Departme

Global health experts have long warned that resistance to antimicrobials, including antibiotics, is a slow-moving crisis with deadly consequences. In 2019, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) caused an estimated 1.3 million deaths globally – the third leading cause of death that year, according to the Lancet. According to one estimate, by 2050, AMR could claim up to 10 million lives annually – on par with cancer.

External Content

Despite these warnings, few companies are developing new antibiotics based on a basic calculation: antibiotics are expensive to develop but generate little profit. A new drug can take 10–15 years and over $1 billion (CHF790 million) to develop, but antibiotics are expected to be cheap and used sparingly to prevent resistance.

This economic mismatch has led public health experts to call for new purchasing models. One option is paying companies an annual subscription fee for access to an antibiotic – rather than paying per pill – to guarantee returns regardless of usage. A handful of countries, including the UK, Sweden, and Japan, are piloting such“pull” incentive schemes. But Switzerland's progress has been slow. If plans stay on track, incentives won't arrive until 2029.

“If a wealthy country like Switzerland doesn't join international efforts to create reimbursement models for new antibiotics, this will not send an encouraging signal to other countries and investors,” said Barbara Polek, managing director of the Swiss Round Table on Antibiotics.

“There's a risk that new antibiotics won't be ready in time to replace resistance-struck antibiotics, and researchers will leave the field entirely.”

A class of antibiotics is a group with similar chemical structures and mechanisms. Members of a class often work by targeting the same bacterial process and may have similar resistance patterns. Experts count around 13 antibiotic classes.

Mounting supply issues

For doctors like Silvio Brugger at University Hospital Zurich (USZ), the risk of running out of effective antibiotics isn't a far-off hypothetical. Although antimicrobial resistance is relatively low in Switzerland, there are growing concerns as patients come from abroad with drug-resistant strains.

Last year, Brugger treated a 44-year-old burn victim with Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), a drug-resistant bacterium that can cause severe infections.“The level of resistance was scary,” Brugger said.“The bacteria were colonising everywhere – in the nose, lungs, and wounds, and subsequently transitioned to the blood. Without treatment, such patients have a very high risk of dying due to the infection.”

CRAB spreads easily in hospitals, especially in humid environments like burn units. In 2007, a CRAB outbreakExternal link forced a burn unit in western Switzerland to temporarily shut down for decontamination.

Only one antibiotic – Sulbactam-durlobactam (brand name: Xacduro) – was effective against CRAB. Approved by US regulators in 2023, it's not yet licensed in Switzerland and must be imported on a case-by-case basis. USZ imported it at a premium, saving the patient's life.

Brugger worries that such scenarios are becoming the norm.“More and more antibiotics needed for treating patients aren't licensed here and must be imported,” he said.

With low expected sales, especially in a small market of nine million people, some companies decide to delay or forego commercialisation. Some don't even submit an approval application to the Swiss medicines regulator.

More More Why Switzerland is running out of pharmaceuticals

This content was published on Mar 9, 2023 How can a country that supplies the world with so much medicine face shortages at home?

Read more: Why Switzerland is running out of pharmaceutical

MENAFN08072025000210011054ID1109775425