The European Court of Auditors is not satisfied with the EU’s policies against antimicrobial resistance. And it made this clear in a report published on 15 November, three days before the European Awareness Day of this threat and the week dedicated to it by the World Health Organization (see opinion editorial).
In their report, the auditors acknowledge that, while some progress has been made in veterinary medicine, the same cannot be said for human health. They call for more monitoring in this area, as well as in the use of European funds.
“The European Commission must, together with the Member States, step up its efforts to stem this growing threat”, commented Nikolaos Milionis, the Member of the European Court of Auditors responsible for the report, recalling that around 33,000 people die each year in the EU from infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) includes the phenomenon whereby microbes, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi, develop resistance to medicines that have previously provided effective treatment.
In 2017, the EU adopted a European Action Plan based on the ‘One Health’ principle, which includes actions in the fields of human health, animal health and the environment (see EUROPE 11819/9). The following year, the EU introduced new rules on veterinary medicinal products and feed which, in the auditors' opinion, have addressed some known weaknesses (see EUROPE 12125/6).
Lack of commercial incentives is a concern
However, auditors still identify a large margin for improvement, particularly in the areas of human health and research.
On the first, the Court calls on the Commission to use performance indicators to help Member States measure their progress in the fight against AMR. It also suggests that this issue be integrated into the Commission’s new approach to pharmaceuticals in the environment.
On the second, the Court regrets that there has been no major progress in recent years in the search for new classes of antimicrobials, despite relatively strong support (since 2004, the EU has injected more than 1.5 billion euros into AMR-related research). In particular, auditors are concerned that no concrete EU initiatives have succeeded in addressing the lack of commercial incentives, which discourages the private sector from investing in AMR research.
“We do not recommend that the Commission put one million euros on the table to fund new medicines, but incentives are needed”, suggested one team member.
The report refers to market entry rewards and long term supply continuity models.
Important differences
Finally, while the picture is less bleak for animal health, as sales of antimicrobials for veterinary use fell by 20% between 2011 and 2016, auditors note significant differences between Member States.
In six of them, antimicrobial sales increased by more than 5%, they note. For the Court, the future Common Agricultural Policy offers an opportunity to further strengthen the EU's framework for combating multidrug-resistant bacteria.
See the report of the European Court of Auditors: http://bit.ly/37fRh4M (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)