Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Urgent need to develop antibiotics for newborns: Global experts

As many as 40 antibiotics approved for use in adults since 2000, only four have included dosing information for newborns in their labels, they said.

Urgent need to develop antibiotics for newborns: Global experts

There is an urgent need to develop antibiotics for newborn babies, a population that is particularly vulnerable to antibiotic resistance, according to leading global public health experts including those from India.

Recent estimates show about 2.3 million newborns die of severe bacterial infections each year while an increasing number are becoming resistant to currently used antibiotics, the experts said in a report published in the December 2022 Bulletin of the World Health Organization.


Over the last decade, AMR has worsened to the point where around 50-70 per cent of common pathogens show a high degree of resistance to available first and second-line antibiotics, they said.

The paper is co-authored by international experts in the field of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), including those from the Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

The authors noted that despite substantial progress in medical research and a steep decline in the number of children under the age of five who die of preventable diseases, many problems related to child health remain to be tackled. Severe bacterial infections are one of them.

"There is an urgent need to identify high-priority antibiotics to understand which ones work best and are safe in children, and then make them available where they are needed," said Mike Sharland from St George's, University of London (SGUL), and member of the Antimicrobial Resistance Programme at Penta - Child Health Research.

"By achieving global consensus, we can streamline the process of antibiotic development, allow for faster access to antibiotics, and reduce the burden of AMR on the vulnerable neonatal population," added Manica Balasegaram, Executive Director of GARDP.

The report also highlights how collaborative antibiotic development and access networks specifically targeting newborns could also prove valuable compared to single independent studies.

A successful example, the authors noted, has been the collaboration between GARDP, Penta – Child Health Research, SGUL, and other partners on a recent global observational study of 3,200 babies with neonatal sepsis across 19 hospitals in 11 countries.

They are also partnering on an upcoming clinical trial, which will start in South Africa within the next few months before being expanded to other countries.

Despite a rising number of newborn deaths caused by AMR, very few effective antibiotics have been adequately studied to treat serious bacterial infections such as neonatal sepsis, the authors said.

As many as 40 antibiotics approved for use in adults since 2000, but only four have included dosing information for newborns in their labels, they said.

According to the report, ethical concerns, logistical issues and regulatory requirements have made it difficult to conduct clinical research in newborns.

There is a long delay in completing paediatric regulatory studies and they are also not harmonised globally to demonstrate clinical utility in newborns, it said.

(PTI)

More For You

Birmingham solicitor wins royal honour for mentoring youth

Nabila meets the King last Wednesday (25)

Birmingham solicitor wins royal honour for mentoring youth

A SOLICITOR from Birmingham has won the Volunteer of the Year award at the King’s Trust and TK Maxx Awards for her work with young people.

Nabila met the King at Buckingham Palace last Wednesday (25) before receiving her award at the ceremony in London last Thursday (26).

Keep ReadingShow less
Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina sentenced to six months in jail

FILE PHOTO: Sheikh Hasina gestures while speaking to the media in Dhaka on January 8, 2024. (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina sentenced to six months in jail

BANGLADESH's ousted and self-exiled prime minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to six months in prison by the country's International Crimes Tribunal on Wednesday (2) in a contempt of court case, a top prosecutor said.

Hasina has been facing multiple cases since she fled to India after deadly student-led protests in August, but it was the first time the former leader was sentenced in one of them.

Keep ReadingShow less
boat-refugees
Migrants swim to board a smugglers' boat in order to attempt crossing the English channel off the beach of Audresselles, northern France on October 25, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Record 19,982 migrants cross English Channel since January 1

NEARLY 20,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats from continental Europe since January 1, setting a new record for the first half of any year, according to UK government figures published on Tuesday.

A total of 19,982 people made the journey, surpassing the previous high of 13,489 recorded in 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less
record heat in uk

Although formal studies into this specific heatwave have yet to be completed

Getty Images

Met Office links record heat to human-driven climate change

Key points:

  • Britain recorded its hottest day of 2025 at 34.7°C in central London on Tuesday.
  • The Met Office said it was “virtually certain” the extreme heat was linked to human-driven climate change.
  • Gritters were deployed to protect road surfaces from melting due to high temperatures.
  • A fire broke out near Herne Hill station after an electrical box exploded.
  • June 2025 was England’s hottest June on record according to provisional Met Office data.

Heatwave hits peak as temperatures reach 34.7°C in London

Britain experienced its hottest day of the year on Tuesday, with temperatures climbing to 34.7°C in central London. The Met Office attributed the extreme weather to human-induced climate change, citing overwhelming scientific evidence from previous heatwave studies. While no formal climate attribution study has yet been conducted for June 2025’s heat events, experts say such conditions are now far more likely due to global warming.

The figure recorded at St James’s Park in Westminster was the highest of 2025 so far, prompting a range of emergency responses and public health alerts.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai Lama

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama attends a prayer ceremony at the Main Tibetan Temple in McLeod Ganj on May 7, 2025.

Getty Images

Dalai Lama confirms spiritual role will continue after his death

THE DALAI LAMA has said that the 600-year-old Tibetan spiritual institution will continue after his death, and that his office will have the sole responsibility of naming his successor. The announcement came on Wednesday through a video message at the start of a religious leaders’ meeting in the Indian Himalayan town where he has lived for decades.

"In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue," he said, according to an official translation. The Dalai Lama also said he had received multiple appeals over the past 14 years from Tibetans in exile, Buddhists across the Himalayan region, Mongolia, and parts of Russia and China urging him to ensure the continuation of the institution.

Keep ReadingShow less