The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    South Korea speeds up full-fledged deployment of US anti-missile battery

  • 3

    Kakao seeks to bolster SM's global presence as new owner

  • 5

    ANALYSISTesla, BYD's price cuts unnerve LGES, Samsung, SK

  • 7

    4 young Nigerian siblings killed in house fire in Ansan

  • 9

    Apple Pay service limited by lack of NFC terminals

  • 11

    Chun Doo-hwan's grandson to apologize to victims of Gwangju massacre

  • 13

    Busan aims to win hearts of developing nations in Expo 2030 bid

  • 15

    Bank failures and rescue test Yellen's decades of experience

  • 17

    From mines to mobility: 140-year-old partnership between Germany and Korea

  • 19

    Unrest on the Island of World Peace in 1903

  • 2

    Lee Sun-kyun, Lee Ha-nee reunite in new rom-com 'Killing Romance'

  • 4

    INTERVIEWHow ATEEZ achieved worldwide success

  • 6

    Actor Yoo Ah-in appears for questioning over alleged drug use

  • 8

    Firstborns account for record-high 63% of newborns

  • 10

    Foreign minister hosts Iftar dinner for Muslims in Korea

  • 12

    SK chief's estranged wife sues his new partner for compensation

  • 14

    Korean police search for 2 Kazakhstanis who fled airport

  • 16

    Samsung chief inspects production plants in China for first time in 3 years

  • 18

    Yoo Ah-in appears before police over alleged use of illegal drugs

  • 20

    Cook praises China's innovation, long history of cooperation on China visit

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
Tue, March 28, 2023 | 11:01
Guest Column
Korea must act now to combat growing AMR threat
Posted : 2022-09-07 16:14
Updated : 2022-09-07 17:19
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
By Kim Bong-young and Mike Hodin

  Kim Bong-young  Mike Hodin
Kim Bong-young
  Kim Bong-young  Mike Hodin
Mike Hodin
Public officials are overlooking one of the gravest long-term threats to the Korean people, the health system, and economy: antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Some pathogens ― bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses ― have evolved strains that resist the antimicrobial medications we currently have available to fight them. Health care professionals often must watch helplessly as patients succumb to infections that antibiotics could once have easily beaten. They know that new antimicrobials, including and especially antibiotics, could easily gain the victory ― but they have none at their disposal.

The pathogens have gained an evolutionary edge as tools used against then have remained static. This is because the market for investment in new innovation has virtually dried up, thanks to a policy framework that does not provide for swift approval of new innovations or adequately reimburse companies for the investments they make to develop new drugs.

Without action, AMR threatens to undermine the very foundations of modern medicine ― killing as many as 10 million people worldwide every year by 2050 and shrinking global GDP by as much as 3.8 percent. Yet, today, Korea currently does not even have reliable data to understand AMR's impact, much less address it.

Around the world, AMR already takes a heavy toll. According to a new Lancet report, it kills an estimated 1.27 million people globally each year. However, the response of the international community has been muted, with few incentives to invest in R&D for new antimicrobial medicines. No new class of antibiotics has been developed in 35 years, even as bacterial resistance has steadily grown and continues to strengthen each year. Older adults are more vulnerable to drug-resistant infections, and the increase in untreatable infections already being experienced among Korea's growing number of seniors is a clear and urgent warning of a crisis that puts Koreans of all ages at great risk.

The scale of the challenge demands national strategies and international collaboration on two key battlefronts. To begin, we must continue to reduce the overuse of current antibiotics, so they remain effective for more people, for longer. This buys time for the second necessary campaign: developing new antibiotics by ensuring the market and policy incentives for the investment in new antibiotic innovation, and reimbursement policies are robust. Doing so will require novel incentives and sustained investment from governments, foundations, and the biopharmaceutical industry.

Korea trails shamefully on this pressing issue. In the 2021 AMR Preparedness Index, which tracks how countries are faring in the fight against AMR, Korea scored just 47/100 ― behind Germany, Japan, Canada, and other advanced economies. In fact, Korea scored closer to India (37) and China (37) than leaders like the United Kingdom (76) or the United States (68).

A number of policy gaps account for this lack of readiness. Korean public health campaigns are limited and smaller in scale than those in many other advanced countries. Too few Koreans understand the dimension of the AMR problem and what they can do to help. Meanwhile, provider education efforts on proper antibiotic usage are too narrow and remain inaccessible to many professionals.

Additionally, the lag between the approval of a new drug and an official reimbursement decision is 10 times longer in Korea than in Japan, reducing the availability of new medicines on the market. In fact, not one of three novel antimicrobials explored in the 2021 AMR Preparedness Index has been approved yet.

Korea needs more champions, including those working on aging and longevity issues, to address these gaps. Already, Korea's first national action plan on AMR integrated best practices from the World Health Organization and established a robust surveillance and monitoring system to track AMR. In recent years, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and other government agencies have led efforts to reduce inappropriate usage of antibiotics for viral illnesses, track and compare usage rates between hospitals, and address overuse in livestock production.

It's time to extend and build on these efforts. First, Korea can fully fund and support its recently released second national action plan on AMR, slated to run through 2025. A well-designed national strategy remains the foundation of a strong AMR response, and Korea must continue to support the plan's priority areas, including antimicrobial stewardship and infection control programs in hospitals, plus R&D investments to help develop new diagnostics and drugs.

Second, policymakers and health system leaders can make AMR a public health priority. A commitment to large-scale awareness campaigns would empower both patients and providers to use antibiotics more responsibly. Making AMR training for health care professionals more accessible and more comprehensive would ensure a consistent approach across the health system. Further, Korea must invest to swell the ranks of its cadre of experts in the AMR field, including infectious disease specialists who can lead the counteroffensive against AMR.

Public officials should also design incentives for the creation and swift adoption of new antibiotics. By doing so, Korea would join AMR heroes like the U.K., which has built innovative models to pay for the public health value of new medicines. New antibiotics must be subject to careful stewardship to extend their useful life; financial success cannot depend on high unit sales. In conjunction, regulators can work to shorten the time between market approval and reimbursement approval.

If policymakers take forward-looking action to address AMR today, we can avoid desperate measures in the future. This is critical to preserving public health, economic strength, and a capable health system. It will place Korea in the global vanguard prioritizing this collective action problem with the highest possible stakes.

Dr. Kim Bong-young, Ph.D., is an associate professor of internal medicine (infectious diseases) at Hanyang University College of Medicine and director of the Isolation Ward at Hanyang University Hospital. Mike Hodin, Ph.D., is CEO of the Global Coalition on Aging.



 
Top 10 Stories
1[ANALYSIS] Tesla, BYD's price cuts unnerve LGES, Samsung, SK ANALYSISTesla, BYD's price cuts unnerve LGES, Samsung, SK
2Yoo Ah-in appears before police over alleged use of illegal drugs Yoo Ah-in appears before police over alleged use of illegal drugs
3US aircraft carrier to visit Busan amid NK provocations US aircraft carrier to visit Busan amid NK provocations
4Korean crypto investors want Do Kwon punished in US Korean crypto investors want Do Kwon punished in US
5Families of foreign construction workers can receive retirement pay: court Families of foreign construction workers can receive retirement pay: court
6Indonesian investment minister promotes EV cooperation with Korea Indonesian investment minister promotes EV cooperation with Korea
7Nongshim plans to build plant in eastern US region Nongshim plans to build plant in eastern US region
8Gimpo-China flights recover to pre-pandemic levels Gimpo-China flights recover to pre-pandemic levels
9Right-wing Japanese support Seoul-Tokyo ties: Korean envoy to Japan Right-wing Japanese support Seoul-Tokyo ties: Korean envoy to Japan
10Local bank stocks hit by shockwaves from SVB, CS collapses Local bank stocks hit by shockwaves from SVB, CS collapses
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Lee Sun-kyun, Lee Ha-nee reunite in new rom-com 'Killing Romance' Lee Sun-kyun, Lee Ha-nee reunite in new rom-com 'Killing Romance'
2[INTERVIEW] How ATEEZ achieved worldwide success INTERVIEWHow ATEEZ achieved worldwide success
3Will April releases revive Korean cinema? Films to look out for in April Will April releases revive Korean cinema? Films to look out for in April
4Dreams come true: TXT mesmerizes 21,000 fans at KSPO Dome Dreams come true: TXT mesmerizes 21,000 fans at KSPO Dome
5'My ID is Gangnam Beauty' to be adapted into live action series in Thailand 'My ID is Gangnam Beauty' to be adapted into live action series in Thailand
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group