Antimicrobial products play a critical role in improving healthcare outcomes while also ensuring that the nation is prepared to respond to public health emergencies, including both naturally occurring and man-made biothreats. Drug-resistant bacteria and fungi can complicate the response to any public health emergency or mass casualty situation, whether the emergency is an act of terrorism, a disease outbreak, or a natural disaster.
BARDA’s mission includes being responsive to these antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) infection threats through technical and financial support to more than 33 public-private partnerships and more than 150 novel therapeutic and diagnostic candidates that address AMR threats since 2010. BARDA support helped six products to address AMR threats reach approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the past decade. BARDA’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan includes a goal of developing broad-acting countermeasures that are effective across high-consequence bacterial pathogens.