This briefing provides a detailed summary of a symposium held at the HTAi 2017 meeting in Rome.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is in part a natural phenomenon, but its growth has been accelerated over time by different causes that now exert a cumulative effect. On the one hand, bad practice favours the spread of infections, such as overuse of antibiotics in human and veterinary care, and poor prevention and hygiene practices. On the other hand, the scarcity of new treatments, both recently launched as well as in pharmaceutical industry development pipelines, reduces the chances of treating AMR effectively in the future.

This publication is a report of a symposium held at the HTAi 2017 meeting in Rome. Throughout the session, the speakers provided recommendations for the strategies and actions that should be implemented in order to prevent the spread of AMR and to incentivise the development of new effective treatments.