KfW, Germany’s Development Bank, to implement partnership, ensuring continuity in funding for early-stage antimicrobial resistance research and late-stage clinical development.

Lyon, 7 April 2026 – The European Commission’s DG Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (DG HERA) announced today at the One Health Summit in Lyon a new €30 million EU4Health investment managed by KfW, Germany’s Development Bank, to Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) and the Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) to strengthen the global response to antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

AMR is a major threat to health, associated with more than 35,000 deaths annually in the European Union, and efficient medical countermeasures including vaccines, diagnostics, antibiotics and alternatives are lacking. Fostering development of new products to address AMR is essential to fighting AMR effectively.

The new partnership will support the work of CARB-X to accelerate early-stage antibacterial research and GARDP to advance late-stage clinical development projects as a holistic approach to innovation to ensure a comprehensive and sustainable pipeline for AMR medical countermeasures. The partnership builds on DG HERA’s prior work as outlined in the EU4Health work programme for 2025 to enhance health preparedness and resilience by reducing the burden of AMR-related morbidity and mortality and increasing development, innovation, and availability of AMR medical countermeasures.

KfW will implement the partnership, bringing extensive experience in managing international funding programmes and fostering public-private partnerships. It will also support coordination and knowledge dissemination activities, including the establishment of an Antimicrobial Drug Pipeline Coordination Forum to align stakeholders, maximize the impact of EU-funded AMR R&D activities, and accelerate access to medical countermeasures.

“With this action, the Commission, through its Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (DG HERA), is reinforcing the EU’s preparedness by supporting end-to-end innovation for antibacterial products and other countermeasures against AMR,” said Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management. “By aligning innovation from early discovery to clinical validation, we can accelerate the development of these lifesaving products and ensure their availability. This approach tackles AMR and strengthens EU readiness for other emerging health threats, embodying our mission to build resilience and prepare for the next health crisis.”

DG HERA has made sustained investments to address AMR as it is one of the most pressing cross-border health threats for Europe and the world. By financing public-private partnerships that bridge early-stage innovation and clinical development, DG HERA ensures that promising medical countermeasures addressing AMR can advance efficiently from discovery to patient use, strengthening health security within the EU and globally.

“Germany is strongly committed to combating AMR,” said Matthias Hauer, Parliamentarian Secretary of State, German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space. “AMR is a growing global challenge and only through joint public research funding, resilient partnerships and sustained investment can we protect public health in Europe and worldwide. The German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space therefore supports international initiatives such as CARB-X and GARDP. We welcome the additional funding of CARB-X and GARDP by the European Commission’s DG HERA. By supporting CARB-X and GARDP and by implementing and managing the EU investment through KfW, Germany’s Development Bank, we are helping to secure the pipeline of new antibiotics and other medical countermeasures.”

“As the implementing partner, KfW is proud to support the EU response to AMR,” said Christiane Laibach, Member of the Board of KfW Banking Group. “By supporting the antimicrobial drug development pipeline coordination efforts, and working with trusted product development partnerships such as CARB-X and GARDP, we can de-risk innovation and ensure that lifesaving medical countermeasures against antimicrobial resistance are available and accessible globally, including by citizens across the EU, when they are most needed.”

Under this initiative, CARB-X will support early-stage research on novel antibiotics, vaccines, preventatives, and diagnostics, while GARDP will advance late-stage clinical development projects, including new antibiotic treatments for neonatal sepsis and drug-resistant serious bacterial infections.

“Europe’s investment is more than a boost for AMR innovation—it is a strategic commitment to both the health of citizens and resilient socioeconomic growth. By supporting early-stage R&D, the EU is helping ensure a steady flow of new vaccines, diagnostics, preventatives, and antibiotics that benefit patients, protect health systems, reduce future healthcare costs, and strengthen economic stability,” said Kevin Outterson, Executive Director of CARB-X. “This partnership with DG HERA, KfW, and GARDP reflects the EU’s global leadership and reinforces the simple truth: safeguarding antimicrobial effectiveness today is essential to sustaining prosperity and security for decades to come.”

“Through this partnership between DG HERA, KfW, CARB-X and GARDP, the European Union is showing true global leadership in tackling the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance,” said Dr Manica Balasegaram, GARDP’s Executive Director. “This support builds on DG HERA’s previous investment and allows us to develop new antibiotics that are effective against WHO priority pathogens, and ensure that they reach the people who need them most.”

Note to Editors

CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) is a global non-profit partnership accelerating early antibacterial innovation to address the rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria. Supported by a global consortium of governments and foundations, CARB-X supports innovative therapeutics, preventatives, and rapid diagnostics with comprehensive scientific and support and non-dilutive funding. CARB-X is funded in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) under agreement number 75A50122C00028 and by awards from Wellcome (WT224842), the UK Department of Health and Social Care’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), the Gates Foundation, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), Japan’s Ministry of Health, the European Commission’s DG Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (DG HERA), and KfW Development Bank. The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in HHS, provides support in the form of in-kind services through access to a suite of preclinical services for product development. The content of this publication is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of CARB-X or its funders.

The Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) is a not-for-profit global health organization driven to protect people from the rise and spread of drug-resistant infections, one of the biggest threats to us all. By forging the public and private partnerships that matter, GARDP develops and makes accessible antibiotic treatments for people who need them. Vital support for our work comes from the governments of Germany, Japan, Monaco, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Canton of Geneva, the European Commission, as well as the Gates Foundation, Global Health EDCTP3, GSK, the RIGHT Foundation, the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and Wellcome. GARDP is registered under the legal name GARDP Foundation in Switzerland.  www.gardp.org

The Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (DG HERA), part of the European Commission, is responsible for ensuring the availability and accessibility of medical countermeasures needed to respond to cross-border health threats. It plays a central role in strengthening the EU’s preparedness and resilience against antimicrobial resistance and other health emergencies.

KfW is one of the world’s leading promotional banks and a key implementing partner of the German Federal Government. It finances and manages programmes that foster sustainable economic and social development and strengthen global health security, including through support for public–private partnerships and innovation in medical countermeasures.

Media contacts

GARDP – press@gardp.org

CARB-X – carbxpr@bu.edu

KfW  – presse@kfw.de

DG HERA (European Commission) – mailto:hera-press@ec.europa.eu; HERA-COMMUNICATION@ec.europa.eu