On Jul. 9, 2020, Pfizer announced it had pledged $100 million to the new Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Action Fund, which launched Jul. 9, to help address the significant global public health need for new antibiotics due to the rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant infections. The AMR Action Fund is a ground-breaking collaboration among more than 20 biopharmaceutical companies that aims to bring 2-4 new antibiotics to patients by 2030 through collaboration between pharmaceutical companies, philanthropies, development banks, and multilateral organizations to re-invigorate and accelerate antibiotic development.

Each year 700,000 people die from AMR. By 2050, it is estimated that AMR could claim as many as 10 million lives per year. To combat AMR, antibiotics should only be used when necessary to preserve their effectiveness.

While antibiotics revolutionized medicine in the 20th century and, together with vaccination, have led to the near eradication of many diseases in the developed world, over time, bacteria change and adapt to the use of antibiotics, rendering them ineffective. This makes it more difficult to treat common infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and salmonellosis, leading to longer hospital stays, higher medical costs and increased mortality.