Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) happens when pathogens causing infections are resistant to the drugs designed to mitigate their related infections, transforming once-manageable infections into life-threatening conditions. Today, AMR is recognised by the WHO as one of the top ten global health threats.

The scale of the crisis continues to accelerate. WHO surveillance data from 2025 shows that drug-resistant bacteria now cause 1 in 6 bacterial infections worldwide, a 40% increase in resistant strains since 2018. The human toll is profound: resistant infections directly caused 1.27 million deaths in 2019 and contributed to nearly 5 million more. Without decisive action, annual mortality could exceed 10 million by 2050, alongside soaring healthcare costs driven by hospital-acquired resistant infections.

Mobilizing for Change

World AMR Awareness Week (18–24 November) is a reminder that addressing this silent pandemic requires coordinated action across all sectors.

The burden is not evenly shared. Patients with compromised immune systems, particularly those undergoing cancer treatment, face infection rates up to seven times higher than healthy individuals. For these vulnerable groups, access to effective antimicrobials is not optional—it is lifesaving.

At Menarini, we believe that confronting AMR is not only aligned with our longstanding commitment to improving and potentially saving patients’ lives—it is essential to safeguarding the hard-won progress of modern medicine over recent decades.

For deeper insight into the critical intersection between AMR and oncology, read the UICC Blog article written by Dr Najy Alsayed, Global Therapeutic Area Head at Menarini Group: “Why is addressing the bacterial AMR threat so crucial to cancer care patient outcomes?”