WHO releases new target product profiles for urgently needed antibiotics
https://www.who.int/news/item/11-03-2026-who-releases-new-target-product...
"We need a reliable pipeline with new antibacterial agents that are innovative, affordable, accessible to all those who need them.
Dr Yvan Hutin/ Director of Antimicrobial Resistance at WHO
COMMENT (NPW): We should reflect on the reasons why we are where we are. Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest threats to human health now and the future. It is largely caused by irrational prescribing of antibiotics, which is closely associated with a lack of actionable, reliable information on the selection and use of antibiotics. What I have to say next is a personal comment and I invite your response: If every prescriber and user of medicines had access to information such as provided by the British National Formulary, we would not be where we are. Unfortunately, the publisher of the BNF made a decision several years ago to restrict the availability of its content on commercial grounds (the BNF had had previously been free-access). If, instead, the BNF had been made available for the public good, with support for the development of national formularies, we would not be where we are.
The HIFA Project on Information for Prescribers and Users of Medicines has previously undertaken a systematic review on this topic with LSHTM and Nagasaki University, and we are currently seeking sponsorship to build on this: https://www.hifa.org/projects/prescribers-and-users-medicines
Contact: neil@hifa.org
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org