According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, patients with drug-resistant severe infections may soon be able to benefit from two new antimicrobial medications as part of the UK's new subscription-type' payment scheme.

NICE published draft guidance on 12 April 2022, recommending ceftazidime with avibactam (Zavicefta; Pfizer) and cefiderocol (Fetcroja; Shionogi) for the treatment of severe aerobic Gram-negative bacterial infections.

“Patients with drug-resistant severe infections may soon be able to benefit from 2 new antimicrobial medications.“

Based on these findings, commercial conversations between NHS England and medication makers have begun to propose subscription-style payments, which would pay pharmaceutical companies a fixed annual amount regardless of the number of prescriptions written.

The initiative, which was first announced on July 9, 2019, aims to make it more appealing for companies to develop new antibiotics and combat the growing issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The medications will only be used to treat patients with severe drug-resistant illnesses who would otherwise have limited or no other treatment options, according to NICE. NICE will issue its final guidance once commercial negotiations have concluded.

Programme director in NICE’s science, evidence and analytics directorate, Nick Crabb, stated: “This draft guidance represents an important milestone in the UK project. Its ultimate goal is to ensure the NHS has access to effective new antimicrobials to call on when needed and patients aren’t left without treatment options in the face of growing antimicrobial resistance.”

Chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, Richard Torbett, stated: “Antibiotics underpin modern medicine, but the increasing threat of antibiotic resistance remains one of the biggest global health challenges we face. To tackle this, it is critical that the appropriate frameworks are in place for companies to invest the billions of pounds required to discover the new antibiotics needed for patients.”