Netflix model for antibiotic subscriptions

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health challenge, with over 4.95 million deaths per year and an expected rise to 10 million deaths in 2050. The lack of antibiotic innovation is linked to market failures on both supply and demand sides. Pharmaceutical companies are under-incentivized to invest in R&D costs and face limited access to new antibiotics due to their less efficacious nature. To address this, policymakers and the NHS in England are piloting the Netflix subscription model to incentivize antibiotic innovation within Pfizer and Shionogi. This model provides a steady revenue stream and predictable budget impact, allowing pharmaceutical companies to take on the commercial risk associated with bringing a novel therapy to market. The Netflix subscription model has been successful in other disease areas, such as the Australian government’s five-year Netflix subscription deal for Sofosbuvir in 2016.