Policy options for sustainable access to off-patent antibiotics in Europe

Securing sustainable access to existing antibiotics optimises agent choice for individual treatments and is crucial to curb antibiotic resistance. Access to antibiotics is often restricted in many countries, due to general market unavailability or episodic shortages. This article outlines key policy options to maintain availability of existing antibiotics and enhance antibiotic supply chain resilience focusing on the perspectives of European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) institutions and member states.