SECURE: The Antibiotic Facility
Antibiotics are central to pandemic response. Non-bacterial pandemics (e.g. viruses like COVID-19) carry the risk of hospitalization and secondary bacterial infections. Bacterial pandemics involve the spread of drug-resistant infections. In either case, effective antibiotics are necessary to secure public health. Despite the importance of antibiotics for pandemic preparedness, there are major barriers in access to antibiotics all over the world. These barriers affect common antibiotics like penicillin and as well as novel antibiotics. GARDP and the World Health Organization, with strategic inputs from UNICEF and the Clinton Health Access Initiative, is developing SECURE, a new global initiative to provide access to essential antibiotics, as well as prepare for and respond to pandemics.


Mission
Accelerate access to essential antibiotics to prepare countries for the silent pandemic of drug-resistant bacterial infections

“COVID gives us little doubt: it is incomparably less costly to prepare for a pandemic than it is to be surprised by one. SECURE reflects the central role that antibiotic access has in responding to a pandemic of any kind, especially a pandemic of drug-resistant infections.”
– Yann Ferrisse, Director Business Development & Partner Engagement a.i., GARDP

Current project
SECURE: The Antibiotic Facility prepares countries for a pandemic of drug-resistant bacterial infections
SECURE is a collaborative initiative developed by the WHO and GARDP with strategic inputs from UNICEF and the Clinton Health Access Initiative. SECURE seeks to accelerate access to a portfolio of essential antibiotics, including generic antibiotics that are in short supply or not widely available, as well as newly approved “reserve” antibiotics for resistant bacterial infections.
SECURE is the first dedicated mechanism to expand access to essential antibiotics which goes beyond access to single products. It offers a comprehensive approach to a sustainable market for antibiotics, including generation of evidence for proper use, innovative financing to procure antibiotics, and market expansion for newly approved antibiotics.
SECURE will work with countries and WHO to establish a relevant product portfolio of quality-assured antibiotics driven by public health needs. This portfolio will be accessible to all participating countries at an affordable price. The model is designed to ensure sustainable and equitable access to antibiotics for patients around the globe, with a specific focus on vulnerable populations.
Currently SECURE is in the development phase. This phase involves fine-tuning the SECURE model to prepare for a successful global launch and engaging with countries that have diverse health challenges and drug-resistance contexts.

Timeline
Timeline
- 2021-22 Setting up: From concept to project
- 2022-23 Development phase
- 2024-27 Implementation phase
- 2027 and beyond: Expanding to full-scale programme and long-term maintenance
Key milestones
- 2021: ESTABLISHED team of organizations with the collective capacity to carry out the SECURE initiative
- 2021: SECURE RECOGNIZED by G7 Finance Ministers’ Statement on Actions to Support Antibiotic Development
- 2022: PUBLICATION of SECURE pilot draft business model
- 2022: SECURE RECOGNISED by the G7 Health Ministers



Learn more
Learn more
- Official website of SECURE: secureantibiotics.org
- Article: Shortage of essential antimicrobials: a major challenge to global health security, by GARDP and others
- GARDP report: Learning from COVID-19 to Tackle Antibiotic Resistance
- Op-ed: “Greater access to antibiotics is essential for curbing drug resistance,” by Ramanan Laxminarayan, Chair of the Board of GARDP
- Report: Incentivising the development of new antibacterial treatments, by the Global AMR R&D Hub & WHO. For SECURE, see pages 3, 12-13, 15.