New York City-based Pfizer and state owned Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have partnered to establish a center in New Delhi to combat antimicrobial resistance in India. The joint initiative will implement a series of comprehensive interventions, ranging from programs for training staff in the healthcare sector to scaling up surveillance networks, and creating awareness around the responsible use of antibiotics. Pfizer has provided an initial grant of $1 million for this initiative with a provision to scale up as the program expands.
“It is important to channel all necessary resources in developing, implementing and monitoring antibiotic resistance to minimize its adverse impact, which is posing a huge threat to both health and food security. Infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis are becoming difficult to treat due to decreased effectiveness arising out of the irrational usage of antibiotics,” said K. VijayRaghavan, secretary, Department of Health Research and director general, ICMR.
Recognizing antimicrobial resistance as an important area to tackle, the government finalized a National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance last year which recommends six strategic priorities including improving awareness through communication, education and training, strengthening surveillance, and promoting investments for initiatives in this project.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
