Fighting AMR: How it can come acopper

Rory Donnelly, clinical research director of Copper Clothing, explains how copper can be a crucial material in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

The threat of AMR

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity. By 2050, drug-resistant infections will kill an extra 10 million people a year worldwide – more than currently die from cancer. A review of the annual 2020 WHO Antibacterial Pipeline Report, revealed that due to lack of antibiotic innovation, “the clinical pipeline and recently approved antibiotics are insufficient to tackle the challenge of increasing emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance.”

As such, the WHO for the first time recognised the need to find novel solutions to tackle AMR and diversify non-traditional antibacterial medicines. However, antimicrobial solutions such as copper fail to be mentioned, highlighting a crucial gap in medical diversification and innovation globally. 

The antimicrobial benefits of copper

Copper has been recognised as a medical tool for thousands of years due to its oligodynamic properties - which is the ability of certain metals to exert a lethal effect on pathogenic cells. After battle, ancient Egyptian and Babylonian soldiers used to shave their bronze weapons and add the filings to their wounds to prevent infection, and it has been used in Ayurveda medicine for centuries. More recently, copper has been used in areas with high-touch surfaces such as hospitalsand theme parks around the world, to reduce the spread of infection. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the registration of antimicrobial copper alloys with public health claims – including most recently to be used against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

The development of copper medical devices

Various studies have demonstrated the antimicrobial properties of copper, and its use for medical devices is growing.

At Copper Clothing we are pioneering research and development which is driving transformational change in the medical device industry. Building a cost-effective, antimicrobial wound dressing portfolio to enhance patient care, whilst reducing the wider economic burden on global healthcare systems. In a recent peer-reviewed study, our copper-infused wound dressings were found to improve surgical site infection by over 80%.

Additionally, in the first study of its kind, copper-infused sanitary towels made by Copper Clothing have demonstrated a significant reduction (77%) in infection rates for childbirth by vaginal delivery (VD). This could have huge potential promise for reducing infection and in turn reduce the use of antibiotics in disease treatment.

The barriers to medical innovation

The pandemic has thrust conversations around the spread of disease into the spotlight, highlighting the efficiency of many superbugs to thrive on common surfaces – so why aren’t antimicrobial materials like copper being used more?

As often is the case, a key factor is cost, with many hospitals switching from copper to stainless steel as a cheaper alternative. That said, stainless steel requires frequent cleaning and, it is clear from reports about rising hospital-acquired infections, this is not an adequate solution. Copper on the other hand has self-cleaning properties which could help prevent this. This highlights the need for medical institutions to consider long-term costs over the short-term.

Additionally, silver continues to be widely used in medical settings as an antibacterial, despite being more expensive and less effective as an antibacterial than copper. The NHS spends upwards of £20 million on silver wound dressings; yet silver does not work as an anti-bacterial without a high temperature or humidity present, whereas copper does. There is also growing evidence to suggest that silver is not immune to the generation of bacterial resistance which is a huge concern given how widely it is used today.

Furthermore, there is a disconnect between the pace of industrial research and regulatory approval, which is slowing down the adoption of innovative medical devices into healthcare systems. While processes are needed to ensure high standards of quality and safety, it is crucial regulatory agencies do more to streamline the approval process and ensure the medical sector can keep up with evolving technologies. 

Future of pandemic and infection prevention

The WHO has identified the need to diversify non-traditional approaches to tackle AMR. Yet naturally abundant resources like copper, which have the power to prevent the spread of infections, are not being fully utilised.

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is about the necessity to consider long-term costs over short-term ones. With a drug-resistance crisis looming, governments and public health agencies must not overlook crucial tools of prevention that lie at our fingertips.