SOCIAL FABRIC WEAKENS AMID DEEPENING DIVISIONS

We have studied trust for more than 20 years and believe that it is the ultimate currency in the relationship that all institutions - business, governments, NGOs and media—build with their stakeholders.

Our 2023 report revealed a slight decline in institutional trust in Canada, while economic confidence experienced a more significant drop. Only 28% of those surveyed believed their families would be in a better financial position in five years.

Despite the relatively stable trust in institutions, the sharp fall in economic confidence is concerning, with just 28% of participants expressing optimism about their family’s financial future. Businesses, as the most trusted institutions, bear the responsibility of addressing societal issues. There is a clear demand from Canadians for businesses to step up their efforts, with 58% believing that businesses are not doing enough to combat climate change and 52% feeling the same about income inequality.

A notable 60% of Canadians feel that societal divisions are greater now than in the past. Businesses can foster confidence and help to bridge these divisions by leveraging research, science, and reliable information. It’s crucial for societal leaders to show a long-term commitment to tackling issues ranging from sustainability and employment to fairness and inclusion. So, what are the implications for businesses?

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Canadian Trust Insights

1. Institutional trust in Canada low but stable - Despite a turbulent year, trust in institutions has been relatively stable, with slight decreases in trust across the four core institutions since 2022.
2. Dropping economic optimism a concern - Only 28 per cent of Canadians say their family will be better off economically in five years’ time, a decrease of six points since last year and an all-time low
3. Employers continue to be the most trusted - At a time when no core institution is trusted, my employer continues to be a mainstay of trust, sittingat 75 per cent trusted by employees.

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I have just returned from a two-week European trip, the first part in Davos, then on to London, Paris and Munich. At my last stop, German businesspeople told me about farmers blocking the roads into the city to protest a proposed elimination of a fuel subsidy and a series of marches last weekend to show solidarity with immigrants threatened with expulsion by the far right AfD party if they are not “properly integrated” into German society. It is this state of discontent that will influence the four billion people going to the polls in 50 countries in the coming months. Here are my observations on Davos:

Ukraine—President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a stirring address that earned him a standing ovation from the Davos crowd. He made it clear that his country would fight to the last man and woman against tyranny. “We are fighting for the sake of freedom and our common values…We must isolate Putin who has created a bunch of slaves in Russia, a nation without a middle class.” He presented Ukraine 2.0, with “smart, talented people working at transparent companies.” He asked CEOs to invest in four target industries: agriculture, defense, transportation and technology. “We want to have jobs to help our citizens to return from abroad.”
Argentina—The newly elected President Javier Milei spoke with conviction about the power of capitalism. “Our country abandoned freedom in favor of collectivism. That is the root cause of our poverty…the Left speaks about social justice but it is not just, because it relies too much on taxes and coercion…Those nations with economic freedom have 12 times more wealth…We will have unrestricted freedom with life, liberty and property guaranteed…The West is in danger of undermining capitalism by relying on neo-classical economic theory but regulation creates distortion and prevents growth.” He and his team have already implemented 300 reforms, cut fuel and food subsidies, devalued the currency by 40 percent and opened the door for foreign investment.
China—Premier Li Qiang moved from wolf-warrior to global citizen with a not so subtle message for the U.S. “Trust between countries is enabled by economic progress of the last three decades, a shared aspiration for a better future…China cherishes peace, stability and transparency…We need better macroeconomic coordination, with major countries committed to upholding the multinational trading system…There is discrimination against Asian suppliers…China has 400,000 technology companies, part of our demographic dividend of moving from cheap labor to top talent…We are moving upscale to high quality.” He spoke with passion about Artificial Intelligence. “AI must do good, to be people centered, to facilitate good AI with governance, with benefits for all…We have proposed global AI Governance Rules.”
In-Sourcing and Near-Sourcing a Reality—Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel, explained the present American industrial policy in the CHIPS and Science act as key to national security and economic prosperity. “Eighty percent of semiconductor manufacturing was in the EU and U.S. in the 1980s, today it is 20 percent...the cutting edge chips for AI are all made in Taiwan and Korea…the Asian countries had government backing to attract the chips industry….We woke up during COVID to the value of near-shoring…We are building factories in Germany and in the U.S. (Ohio) in Silicon Heartland, near the car industry, a key user of chips…We also have plans for factories in France and Ireland.” This is consistent with what I heard from HP CEO Enrique Lores, who has ramped up production in Mexico and is constructing a new factory in Thailand for PCs and printers. Siemens CEO Roland Busch spoke about “Local for local,” meaning that his company is building factories in China for consumption in China. DP World believes that North-South trade will take up a substantial part of global trade, which is now 70 percent East West.
Integration of MENA (Middle East, North Africa)—Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Holding CEO Ahmed Galal Ismail said that the next 25 years will be the Golden Age for the region, which is enjoying the fastest growth rate in the world post COVID. In the UAE, 75 percent of GNP is already non-oil. Ismail asserted that “we have an ease of doing business, with free movement of people, data and inter-regional trade, with significant cross border foreign investment.” One example is the UAE investing in green energy in Egypt. Egypt is seeking to build up its food and furniture industries. There is a major focus on education, in the belief that skilled youth will push the start-up eco-system. As a combined entity (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt) the economy is as large as the UK
Sustainability at a Cost—The energy transition expressed in the successful outcome of COP28 is going to be costly. Doug Peterson, CEO of S&P Global, estimated that the annual cost of the transition will be $2 trillion a year for the next decade. He projected that global debt load will soar by 50 percent in that time, from $220 trillion to $330 trillion. We will need to have Blended Finance, combining public sector with private capital, to increase the credit quality of the Global South, which urgently needs investment to achieve sustainability goals. The possibility of change is best expressed by Europe’s pivot because of the Ukraine conflict; there was more use of solar and wind than natural gas in the Continent for the first time in 2023 and EVs accounted for 20 percent of cars sold. Mike Henry, CEO of BHP, the mining company, said that the capital markets must recognize the difference between good and bad players; as an example, Indonesia has a much higher carbon footprint in its nickel production than does Australia. One such effort is the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), which has been signed by 320 companies and 100 banks. Standard Chartered Bank CEO Bill Winters said that his institution is implementing a Climate Risk Assessment to track the effect of its loans; this is needed in markets such as Colombia, where 60 percent of CO2 emissions can be tied to deforestation.
Global Monetary Policy to Remain Aggressive, the Global Economy to Grow Slowly—Mark Carney, former head of the Central Bank in Canada then UK, said that the credibility of central banks is on the line. “Interest rates must stay high until inflation is controlled.” Inflation coming out of COVID was still at 2 percent but spiraled after the invasion of Ukraine, with central banks behind the curve on raising rates. He pointed to “good dis-inflation, as supply chains are sorted out and labor markets remain relatively flexible with a productivity boom in markets such as the U.S.” He asserted that inflation targeting has worked, as higher rates have moderated demand. The central bankers believe that there will be more supply shocks, given the re-wiring of trade routes to de-risk the supply chain given present geo-politics. This high interest rate environment will cause slow growth in most markets in 2024, with China and EU struggling the most.
Government View of AI—The AI minister of the UAE said that government should guarantee access to everyone by investing in telecom infrastructure (note that 2.5 billion people lack access to internet, 2.2 billion have no access to telecommunications), to ensure availability of energy to power the machines, to secure data and to recognize the potential impact on the workforce. The Japanese minister said that there needs to be a strong non-English language data set, citing potential distortion of images. He wants to watermark content to help creative professionals to protect their work product. Pedro Sánchez, the Prime Minister of Spain, said that AI may reduce the value of workers and cut wages, which would increase inequality and widen the digital divide. “Gains of AI must be fairly distributed.” He wants to ensure that AI does not allow bias to be magnified. The Secretary General of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), Mathias Cormann said that his organization has established an incident tracing system for cybersecurity and disinformation. Foreign actors account for only 20 percent of the disinformation, the balance comes from domestic bad actors.
Future of Media—The Media Governors convened as the Los Angeles Times owner mandated a 20 percent reduction in newsroom staff and TIME Magazine cut 15 percent of its unionized journalists. Google executives said that the search engine is distinguishing and elevating quality content and that its YouTube subsidiary is using third party raters to put high quality, fact-based content higher in search results. The risk of deep fakes is accelerating; one participant cited the fake Call of Duty video that was posted after the October 7 attacks in Israel. YouTube is now offering Dream Track which uses AI to enable your favorite singer to croon Happy Birthday to you. Neal Mohan, the CEO of YouTube, said that the TV screen is now its most popular use venue, arguing for a Unified Place on TV, phone, or laptop. The New York Times CEO Meredith Levien made the case for AI paying for quality journalism; now, Times content is being used in Large Language Models for free (litigation underway). Microsoft is now creating a C2PA, Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, an open technical standard providing publishers and consumers the ability to “trace the origin of different types of media.” In the words of Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, “These are tools to protect democracy.”
Future of Europe tied to Capital Markets—The Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, said that the capital markets are the key to European competitiveness. There is too much reliance on the banks for financing. Europeans must change their investing behavior, according to the Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing, who said that 55 percent of Americans own shares compared to only 33 precent of British, 16 percent of Germans, and 7 percent of French. There is a big role for the European Investment Bank as a green lender, to de-risk investments and support new financial instruments for the green transition. European entrepreneurs are no longer happy with a small exit; they are over-reliant on American venture capital which has an investment pool 20 times the size of Europe. Europe is doing well in discovery; there are a record number of new patents being recorded. But the money needs to be there to suit the opportunity. Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, suggested a single set of rules for the capital markets across the EU, a European SEC with authority and speed of action and infrastructure for trading. There was also discussion of cross-border M&A that would enable consolidation of the very national banking business; Europe needs giants the same size as J.P. Morgan.

The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer was frequently quoted in Davos because we challenged the presumption of progress as a universal good. We issued a strong warning to innovators across AI, health, food, and energy; innovation is key to development and prosperity but the license to innovate cannot be assumed. By two to one across gender, income, education, age and political system, respondents believe that innovation is being poorly managed; that government regulation is lagging, consideration of employment effects is lacking, and emphasis is given to Wall Street not Main Street. The triple threat of the mass-class divide, battle for truth, and imbalance of trust between business and government must not be further aggravated by innovation at warp speed. The promise of AI is real, in medical diagnosis, improved supply chain, sustainability, and economic growth. We are at the crossroads of trust; it is in the hands of business leaders to make acceptance and adaptation as much of a priority as invention so that all will benefit from this once in a generation burst in innovation.

Richard Edelman is CEO.

David Davis, former CEO Edelman UK and Deputy Chairman, passed away earlier this week at age 87. He worked with my father for over two decades to build the global business from its American base. He began his career at The Times of London as a business reporter, joining Edelman in 1968 in the UK as one of the first employees. He was right-hand man to Michael Morley, President of our international operations.

I remember David as a businessman first and foremost. He brought the concept of budgeting to Edelman. He took us into financial PR with the acquisition of a boutique in London, Derek Dale and Associates. He also bought a B-to-B agency, Medalyer and Associates. He was the hardest worker in the firm, in early, home late, always with clients and available to counsel staff.

His favorite client was a UK-based holding company, Lex, headed by Trevor Chinn, an entrepreneur in travel and leisure. He was an expert at CEO positioning and crisis management.

He had a close relationship with my father, Dan Edelman. It started off in an odd way. Dan sent him a “welcome to Edelman” letter addressed to Dave Davis. David wrote back and said that nobody called him Dave, not even his mother. My father then wrote back to David a dutifully respectful note, without apologizing or explaining.

The early days of Edelman UK were the tale of a classic start-up. David spoke at the dedication ceremony for our new office in the UK, Francis House. He regaled the crowd with the tale of the first office on Albemarle Street with a large stain in the middle of the carpet. When clients would come to visit, account staff would take turns standing over the stain to ensure that it was not visible.

David and his wife Beryl came to Edelman's 65th Anniversary Founder's Day event on October 2, 2017 at Baruch College in New York, co-hosted with the Museum of Public Relations. David was our special guest, and when asked about Dan's best advice, he said: “The notion that you built a relationship with a client, wasn’t us. Dan’s approach was to get under the skin of the client--to understand what they wanted as individuals, and as a company.”

Earlier that day in the New York office he attended a brainstorming session and spoke with several of our young employees. His message was simple; a family business has a substantial advantage in a world of conglomerates, able to think long term and to zig when all the others are zagging.

He was a family man, survived by his incredible wife Beryl and son Jonathan, a tech entrepreneur and global thinker. He was a devout Jew, proud of his origins, committed to his faith.

I will miss him as a mentor and a friend. He is remembered in the Edelman Museum as one of the ten people who enabled us to be the different one. Rest in peace, David, you have earned it.

Richard Edelman is CEO.

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A remembrance by Michael Morley, former head of the London office and Edelman International.

I cannot let the passing, on 26th December 2023, of dear friend and colleague David Davis go any longer without writing some memories of our time together at DJE, (now Edelman). One of our earliest clients was a brilliant young Dane, Kaj Jensen, who had the licence to market Heuga Carpet Tiles in the UK. This Dutch company was revolutizing the floor covering business in Europe and the UK. I arranged for Kaj to meet and be interviewed by David over lunch at the Savoy. David was at the time a reporter on the Business Section of The Times. Not long after David joined Audrey Baker and our small team at Edelman, then located in Albemarle Street.

I now realize that, in truth, it was David who was interviewing me as a prospective employer. He was doubtless impressed by the client roster we had already built up (Gillette, Kimberly-Clark , Finnfacts, Heuga, Chesebrough-Ponds and others). He was also attracted by the Jewish and journalistic heritage of Daniel J. Edelman, the firm's founder, in Chicago.

Our relationship blossomed into a successful partnership with David becoming Managing Director of Edelman London.

Increasingly, as my responsibilities involved me in the expansion and management of Edelman offices in Europe and beyond, David took a much more direct role in managing the office in London, an arrangement which came to complete fruition when I moved to New York in 1984.

I knew David as a devoted family man whose wife Beryl and son, Jonathon, were ever foremost in his thoughts. Yet, at the same time he was totally dedicated to his work at Edelman, as has been so warmly and well-described by Richard Edelman in his tribute to David.

Michael Morley, Deputy Chairman, President of Edelman International, 1967-2002.

In 2013, in Hamburg, we set our ambitions to have our own creatives and strategic planners with the goal to compete with ad agencies and digital firms for marketing dollars. Fast forward 10 years and that ambition has been realized. We’ve just topped the list for PRovoke’s annual Global Creative Index. This is a stunning achievement fueled by our work in 2023 including the campaign of the year, HP’s StreetCode, and three other award-winning campaigns — Dove’s #LetHerGrow, Dove’s #KeepTheGrey and Vaseline’s See My Skin.

We also won a Grand Prix this week at the Eurobest for our Mayo McHack campaign. It was a classic tongue-in-cheek PR campaign conducted in the UK market. Dan Edelman is smiling down on this one.

British consumers love to use mayonnaise with their chips (French fries for the rest of us). But McDonald’s does not offer mayonnaise as a condiment. So, our client Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, the number one condiment in the UK, decided to stand up for the lovers of its brand. The solution was elegant. McDonald’s offers a Mayo Chicken sandwich, with a bun, chicken, lettuce and of course mayonnaise. Customers were asked to walk into the shop and order the Mayo Chicken, but hold the chicken, lettuce and bun, leaving only the mayonnaise. We would refund the £1.19 cost of the sandwich if the customer submitted a photo of the McDonald’s box with only mayo inside to #MayoMcHack. Then they could enjoy fries the proper way, with mayo.

This idea took off in the media, with 300 percent increase in social engagement, 46 percent rise in Hellmann’s brand consideration, 9-point jump in purchase intent and 72 percent of consumers agreeing that McDonald’s should offer Hellmann’s in store. McDonald’s found this slightly less funny, sending a cease-and-desist letter. We leave the stage hoping that McDonald’s and Hellmann’s may one day be able to do a deal and give the people what they want.

In mid-September after much of the East Coast of the U.S. found itself under a thick orange haze from the wildfires in Canada, our team worked with Sanofi Consumer Health’s allergy brand Allegra, to create Allegra Airways, the world’s first navigation tool for allergy sufferers to help people find routes with better air quality in real-time. Allegra Airways beta-launched this technology in New York City during Climate Week to capture the attention of environmental leaders around the world. Media impressions exceeded 300K and 6.6 million social media impressions. Most importantly, we enabled people to take 23,700 breaths of better air.

I told my team in the end of year Town Hall address that we have the privilege of being in the room where it happens. There is power in what we do, to set a new context, to motivate through ideas that enable action. I told them that the spirit of Edelman is best embodied in this quote from George Bernard Shaw: “Some men see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say why not?” Thank you to every one of the 6,000 people of Edelman and Zeno who bring their best every day.

Richard Edelman is CEO.

In Africa's bustling socio-economic bazaar, trust isn't just another commodity — it's the marketplace's very foundation. Businesses might be the stalls drawing attention, but it's NGOs that know every nook and cranny. Together, they're more than just market players; they're the architects of progress, turning trust into the blueprint for a sustainable future.

In regions marked by historical complexities, sociopolitical challenges and economic disparities, the role of trust becomes even more pronounced: a fundamental thread binding communities, businesses and institutions towards sustainable development.

According to the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer, business remains the only trusted institution for 62% of respondents surveyed globally. On the African continent, in countries like South Africa and Kenya, the results are not vastly different.

The data shows that South Africans, for example, are increasingly turning to businesses as trusted partners in addressing contentious societal issues. This emphasizes the responsibility of businesses to leverage the power of their brands to create a shared identity and effect positive change.

But this responsibility isn't solely for the corporate realm to bear. A more nuanced understanding of sustainable development in Africa instead reveals a compelling case for a synergistic collaboration between the private sector and NGOs.

The nexus between business and NGOs

Businesses, with their impressive capital and strategic prowess, are more than just profit-making entities. They've evolved into agents of societal change, possessing the capability to influence debates, drive innovation and champion sustainable growth. Their brand power and global networks position them as formidable forces capable of fostering large-scale change.

However, real, sustainable impact doesn't emanate from corporate boardrooms alone.

Grassroots movements, local understanding and an intricate grasp of societal nuances are crucial. This is where NGOs, with their decades of on-the-ground experience and commitment to mission-driven work, become invaluable partners.

Historically, NGOs have been the silent shepherds of sustainable initiatives, working relentlessly at the community level, identifying challenges and piloting solutions. Their insights into the local context, combined with an intimate understanding of the challenges faced by marginalised communities, make them unparalleled experts in the field. But, while they hold the knowledge and the passion, they often face hurdles when it comes to scalability and resources.

This is the gap that businesses can bridge.

A collaboration between the two entities creates a dynamic where the strengths of one counterbalance the limitations of the other. In this symbiotic relationship, NGOs offer businesses the blueprint – the know-how and the local trust – while businesses bring scalability, resources, and a broader stage. Yet, while the merits of such a collaboration are evident, establishing meaningful connections between businesses and NGOs is not without its challenges. The two entities, though complementary, often operate with different priorities and perspectives.

According to the latest Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust and Climate Change, only 44% of the public believes that NGOs are doing well in partnering with government and business to develop and execute climate change solutions, reflecting a degree of skepticism about the effectiveness of these collaborations.

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Finding the connection

This is where companies like Edelman Africa – recently celebrating its 10th anniversary on the continent – can become vital. For example, the company is working alongside several non-profits to shape the narrative of the world's first Afro-dynamic eco-city in Sierra Leone; highlight the pressing interplay between healthcare and climate change using an A.I. generated art gallery; and rally global voices toward sustainable gender equality solutions – among others.

While such partnerships highlight the potential of synergies between business and NGOs, there is still more to be done.

The 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer underscores that half of South Africans believe businesses are falling short in addressing significant societal issues. There is therefore a pressing need for businesses to step up, not just to maintain trust but to be the vanguards of societal change.

In partnering with NGOs, businesses can ensure that their initiatives are not just well-intentioned but well-executed. In an age where trust is both fragile and invaluable, the path forward necessitates a deeper alliance between these entities.

By championing collaboration and prioritizing societal impact over isolated efforts, businesses and NGOs can co-create a future that's not only prosperous but also deeply rooted in trust and mutual respect. The time to foster these transformative partnerships is now, setting the stage for a more inclusive, sustainable, and trust-rich African continent.

Karena Crerar is CEO of our operations in Africa.

My wife Claudia runs the We Are All Human Foundation. She held her Hispanic Leadership Conference this week in New York City. I spoke about Hispanic trust in institutions and the community’s expectations of business, CEOs and employers. In the two days, I met two remarkable Latinas, Dolores Huerta, and Rosie Casals.

Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers in 1962 with Cesar Chavez, giving voice to Latino agricultural workers demanding higher wages from grape farmers. She helped to direct the national grape boycott that in 1970 forced the growers to pay more and to offer better living conditions. Somehow, she had 11 children while maintaining a full schedule of union organizing and activism. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2012. Her foundation trains leaders in community organizing. Last night, my wife and her fellow honorees used Huerta’s signature UFW rallying cry, “Si se puede,” meaning “Yes, we can,” to close the dinner. At 93 years old, she has a sparkle and energy that is the envy of all who meet her.

Casals is a tennis legend, winner of five Wimbledon doubles championships with partner Billie Jean King in the late 60s and early 70s. She was the inspiration for equal pay for women on the tennis tour, when men were making ten times more than women for tournaments. She and Billie Jean persuaded the other top seven female players to leave the tour and set up the all-woman series called the Virginia Slims Circuit. She then organized the Women’s Tennis Association because the male players refused to allow women to join their new union. Rosie is now working to get Latinas to play tennis, offering them free racquets and instruction through the Latin American Tennis Foundation. The example of the African American community, the Williams sisters and Coco Gauff, is top of mind for Casals, who wants to develop the next Mary Joe Fernández or Gabriela Sabatini.

These two women understood the power of media to make the case for equal pay. They were crusaders who took action, whether a boycott of grapes or quitting the tennis tour to set up their own series. They understood the need for partners, in the case of Casals it was Billie Jean King, for Huerta it was Cesar Chavez. Their stories should inspire future generations of Hispanics proving that change is possible through hard work and determination.

Richard Edelman is CEO.

Almost 100 years after Fleming noticed a certain species of mould could suppress the growth of bacteria, the use of antibiotics is now approaching a tipping point.

While it’s true antibiotics typically add over 20 years to life expectancy and have revolutionised modern medicine to become one of the most precious resources we’ve ever known, there exists an often unspoken but very real public health emergency that’s getting worse. Bacteria is no longer responding to antibiotics in ways it was before and infections are becoming harder to treat.

Four years ago, bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – as it’s known – was connected to almost 5 million deaths annually, it’s already a leading cause of death today and experts calculate by 2050, AMR (encompassing not just bacteria, but also how viruses, fungi and parasites are no longer responding to medicines) could cause up to 10 million deaths a year worldwide – that’s the same as cancer. To bring the reality of this emergency into focus, a friend and colleague of mine noticed she had a urinary tract infection (UTI), just as many of us do from time to time. She was given antibiotics by her GP and took them as directed, considering it taken care of. A few weeks later, she became unwell very quickly, feeling nauseous, feverish and then being sick. After seeing her GP again for a urine test, she was referred immediately to hospital where she collapsed. Waking up in a hospital bed, she was told the UTI had been caused by E.coli, had travelled to her kidney and caused sepsis. 24 hours later she was told the antibiotics were not working and she was moved to intensive care. Eventually, one intravenously-administered antibiotic began to work and she was discharged a week later with a final course of antibiotics.

Thankfully, she fully recovered. Sadly, AMR is likely to make death from ‘everyday’ infections more common. And make routine medical procedures too dangerous to do.

Misuse and overuse of antibiotics is driving this increase in resistance.

The scale of the problem is worsened by the World Health Organization’s warning that a weak pipeline for new antibiotics is undermining efforts to tackle AMR sufficiently and health authorities around the world are ramping up efforts to look for ways to address the issue, preventing it from becoming as dangerous as it could. That includes the European Commission’s proposal put forward in April this year to incentivise a wider search for new antibiotics and solutions as part of its proposed revision of the EU’s pharmaceutical legislation.

The good news is innovators around the world are working hard to extinguish the danger too.

Santero, a spin-out of the Université Libre de Bruxelles, is tackling superbugs by targeting a specific enzyme essential to the survival and development of bacterial cells. This protein, which is found across all families of bacteria, has so far had no natural or artificial antibiotic, but the company has overcome this problem by developing revolutionary inhibitors – molecules that are able to suppress the enzyme’s activity. Because all types of bacteria contain the target enzyme, Santero’s approach could be applied to virtually any pathogen over the long term. But the startup’s immediate focus is on high-priority pathogens like E.coli and Staphylococcus aureus.
Another group of researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has developed an antibiotic that can change shape to respond quickly to new drug-resistant pathogens. The new antibiotic uses a molecule called bullvalene, in which the atoms can swap positions. This means the molecule can shapeshift, with over a million possible configurations. The research team chose the antibiotic vancomycin to test its approach. Used to treat a wide range of illnesses, vancomycin has become less effective over time at killing bacteria such as vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and vancomycin-intermediate/resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA), as these pathogens have developed resistance to it. The researchers used a technique called ‘click chemistry’ to combine two molecules of vancomycin with a bullvalene centre. They then tested the shape-shifting drug on a VRE-infected moth, finding it was more effective than standard vancomycin at clearing the infection. The novel antibiotic also did not induce any further resistance in the bacteria.
Going beyond purely pharmaceutical treatments, researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a therapy that kills superbugs using polydopamine nanoparticles, an antimicrobial peptide, and laser light. Polydopamine is a naturally occurring hormone and neurotransmitter, which makes it the perfect biocompatible material for the nanoparticles. These particles kill pathogens in two ways. First, their surfaces can be covered with the peptide, a short chain of amino acids that binds with bacterial membranes, destabilising the harmful cells. Second, the nanoparticles are highly sensitive to light, which means they become hot when exposed to low-powered lasers. The particles heat-up the bacteria cells, in turn, killing them.
A team at Brown University has developed a material that responds to bacteria by releasing encapsulated medication. The material could lead to the development of wound dressings that deliver medication only when it is needed, giving bacteria less opportunity to develop resistance.
To improve our understanding of drug-resistant bacteria, Solu is helping scientists detect dangerous new pathogens more effectively by building a pathogen DNA library that collects data on superbugs in real-time and monitors their evolution. DNA sequencing is widely believed to be the next step in combatting drug-resistance, but today there is a lack of bioinformaticians to analyse data from sequencing devices. With Solu, however, labs need only upload the output data from their device to obtain results.
Resistomap is helping to detect drug-resistant pathogens in the environment. The company analyses environmental samples for antibiotic resistance through its data-driven laboratory service. This helps hospitals, researchers, water and sewage companies, and the food production industry understand where antibiotics are inadvertently entering the environment from their operations.

Back in the UK, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Imperial College London announced in July it will open a new centre in 2028 to mark 100 years since Fleming discovered antibiotics to drive a global movement to tackle antimicrobial resistance. So there’s hope more answers are coming.

The pace of AMR and its threat to global health is worrying. But the more aware of the issue we are, the more urgency we can place on finding solutions and working together, across therapeutics, policy and technological innovation, to keep the risk from tipping over to an even greater mainstream reality.

Lou Dalton is a Senior Director in Health.

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