Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X)

The Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) global partnership was created to help address the threat of antibiotic resistance. 

CARB-X is funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) in the United States Department of Health and Human Services; the Wellcome Trust in the United Kingdom; Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF); the United Kingdom Government’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), through its Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF); the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). For more information, please see Funding Partners.

Major Areas of Focus

CARB-X is focused on the preclinical discovery and development and Phase 1 clinical trials of new antibacterial products (including therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics) to help address the threat of antibiotic resistance.

Over the last several decades there has been a continual withdrawal of pharmaceutical companies engaged in developing new antibiotics. In 1990, there were at least 18 large pharmaceutical companies actively developing antibiotics. As of April 2020, there are 4. 

CARB-X provides funding for companies with innovative and promising solutions to antibiotic resistance. CARB-X also provides the business support and drug development expertise to that companies, including start-ups, need to increase their odds of success. NIAID provides technical support and preclinical drug development services to CARB-X awardees.

Contact Information

Anita Sheoran, Ph.D., Office of Biodefense, Research Resources and Translational Research

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