Antimicrobial resistance is no longer just a clinical or scientific challenge. It has increasingly become an issue of global health governance, with the power to influence industrial policies, pharmaceutical regulation, and investment strategies.
A significant step in this direction is represented by the Draft Updated Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance 2026–2036, presented by the World Health Organization to its Executive Board in January 2026.
The document updates the first global plan adopted in 2015 and introduces a broader strategic framework, explicitly grounded in the One Health approach.
From the 2015 plan to a broader governance framework
The 2015 WHO plan defined five main objectives: improving awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), strengthening surveillance, reducing the incidence of infections, optimizing the use of antimicrobials, and supporting the development of new therapies.
The new 2026–2036 draft expands this vision. Antimicrobial resistance is framed as a systemic challenge involving public health, agriculture, the environment, the pharmaceutical industry, and regulatory systems.
The plan puts forward a “whole-of-society” governance model, calling for coordinated action among governments, international organizations, industry, and the scientific community.
Antibiotic innovation and economic models
One of the most critical issues concerns therapeutic innovation. Despite growing clinical need, the development of new antibiotics continues to face significant economic barriers.
The WHO plan explicitly acknowledges the need for new incentive models for research, including:
- market entry reward mechanisms
- public–private funds for antimicrobial R&D
- payment models that decouple clinical value from sales volume
These tools are designed to address a well-known paradox in the field: antibiotics must be used sparingly to prevent resistance, but this very restraint undermines the economic incentive to develop new molecules.
Global access and stewardship
The new plan also reinforces the issue of access to medicines. The World Health Organization emphasizes that tackling AMR requires a balance between ensuring access to essential antimicrobials in low-income countries and promoting responsible use to prevent the emergence of resistance.
For the industry, this implies an increasingly active role in stewardship programs and responsible distribution models. Pharmaceutical companies are now expected to demonstrate not only the scientific quality of their products, but also the sustainability of their use over the long term.
The European and Italian context
The global strategy is also reflected in European and national policies. In Italy, the address act issued by the Ministero della Salute for 2026 reiterates the commitment to tackling antimicrobial resistance according to the One Health approach.
The Piano Nazionale di Contrasto dell’Antimicrobico-Resistenza (PNCAR) 2022-2025 has been extended until 2026, while a new programming cycle for 2027–2031 is currently under development.
This means that in the coming years AMR will continue to be a priority for both Italian and European health policies, with potential implications for pharmaceutical regulation and public research programs.
A new responsibility for the pharmaceutical sector
The growing centrality of antimicrobial resistance in global policy agendas suggests that the role of the pharmaceutical industry can no longer be limited to the development of new drugs.
Research, sustainable manufacturing, global access, and stewardship will increasingly become integrated components of industrial strategy. In other words, the One Health approach is progressively reshaping the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and global public health.
For companies operating in the sector, anticipating these transformations may represent not only a public health responsibility, but also a competitive advantage in the emerging international regulatory landscape.
Resources
World Health Organization. Draft updated Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance 2026–2036.
https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB158/B158_18-en.pdf
Ministero della Salute. Atto di indirizzo 2026.
https://www.salute.gov.it/new/sites/default/files/2026-01/Atto%20di%20indirizzo%202026_firmato%20Ministro.pdf
