Reimbursement models to tackle market failures for antimicrobials: Approaches taken in France, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States

The pipeline of new antibacterials remains limited. Reasons include low research investments, limited commercial prospects, and scientific challenges. To complement existing initiatives such as research grants, governments are exploring policy options for providing new market incentives to drug developers.

The UK and Sweden are piloting entirely novel reimbursement models. Existing interventions in the US, France, and Germany represent important, but relatively minor interventions. More countries should explore the use of novel models and international coordination will be important for ‘pull’ incentives to be effective.