Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most pressing global health challenges of our time. By 2050, it is projected that AMR could cause up to 10 million deaths annually if left unaddressed, surpassing those caused by cancer. At the heart of this growing crisis is the inappropriate use of antibiotics, which often goes unnoticed outside medical circles. While hospital acquired infections are a major problem and receive considerable attention, the real battleground is primary care, where more than 80% of all antibiotics are prescribed.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria evolve to resist the effects of antibiotics, making once-treatable infections difficult or impossible to cure. This resistance is fuelled primarily by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, not just in hospitals, but across all healthcare settings and even in agriculture. Understanding how and where to tackle AMR is vital because it affects everyone.
Resistant infections can lead to longer illnesses, more frequent hospital visits, more expensive treatments, and increased mortality. Moreover, common medical procedures such as surgeries, chemotherapy and childbirth become riskier when antibiotic resistant bacteria are prevalent. Recognising how our actions contribute to resistance, particularly how we prescribe and consume antibiotics, is the first step toward combating it.
The primary care frontline
Contrary to popular belief, hospitals are not the primary source of antibiotic prescriptions. In fact, most antibiotics are prescribed in primary care. Primary care physicians (PCPs), general practitioners (GPs) and family practitioners (FPs), all face immense pressure: they must make quick decisions in short consultations, often without clear diagnostic tools. Patients frequently expect antibiotics as a treatment, even for viral infections where antibiotics are ineffective.
This creates the perfect conditions to worsen antimicrobial resistance. Without accurate, rapid tools to diagnose infection, distinguish bacterial from viral infections and chose effective antibiotics, many clinicians resort to prescribing antibiotics ‘just in case’.
The technology gap challenge
Awareness of AMR is no longer the issue, most healthcare professionals understand the stakes. The real challenge lies in the absence of effective, accessible diagnostic technologies and decision-support tools in primary care. Current technologies are too slow, costly, or operationally complex for routine use in a physician’s office.
However, delivering a solution that fits the constraints of primary care is no small feat. Any product must balance four critical factors: speed, accuracy, usability and cost. Fall short on any of these, and the technology simply won’t become widely adopted. Worse, these requirements are intrinsically in conflict with each other. Improving any one is likely to comprise one or more of the others.
These exceptionally high technical, financial, practical and clinical demands explain why solutions remain scarce and highlight why breakthrough innovation in this space is so rare. Any company that can navigate these trade-offs and deliver a fast, accurate, usable and affordable solution stands to be commercially successful and improve care for the entire planet.
Empowering primary care physicians
To make meaningful progress against antimicrobial resistance with diagnostics, we must refocus our efforts and investment towards primary care, where most antibiotics are prescribed. While developing new antibiotics is also critical, we can’t expect to keep creating new classes of antibiotics. We must equip PCPs with the right tools to make the best use of the antimicrobial resources of today.
Imagine a world where every PCP has access to fast, accurate and portable diagnostics at the point of care. Empowering clinicians with this capability would dramatically cut unnecessary prescriptions, improve patient outcomes and buy us critical time in the global fight against resistance.
Redefining AMR strategy
Antimicrobial resistance is a solvable problem, but only if we address it where it begins. Primary care is the front line, yet it remains one of the most overlooked areas in AMR strategy. Equipping PCPs, with the right diagnostic and decision-making tools, is the most impactful step we can take to reduce unnecessary prescriptions and preserve the efficacy of antibiotics.
At Cambridge Consultants, we understand the complexity of this challenge. We think deeply about the four critical factors – speed, accuracy, usability and cost – and how to deliver real-world solutions that balance addressing them. We know this is a hard problem. That’s exactly why we’re tackling it.
If you’re ambitious about making a difference in the fight against AMR, and see the opportunity where it truly lies, please do get in touch. Let’s explore how we can turn this challenge into meaningful progress, together.
Expert authors
Alejandra is a biomedical engineer with a PhD in Biological Sciences and over five years of experience in product development, specialising in drug delivery and diagnostic devices. She has supported projects from early concept through to regulatory submission and market launch. Passionate about strategy and innovation, Alejandra enjoys advising clients and working at the forefront of deep tech.
