Antibiotic resistance is a global public health threat. Modern health systems rely on antibiotics to prevent and treat infections, and the need for new drugs is urgent. In a joint call to action, the AMR Accelerator projects ask for long-term investments, emphasising the need to preserve the European capacity to combat drug-resistant infections.
The need for new antibiotics is well-recognized and on 26 September, the United Nations General Assembly will accelerate political actions in a high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance, or ‘AMR’. The AMR Accelerator – a public-private partnership involving nine European projects and 98 organisations – urges government leaders and private actors to invest in the development of antibiotics and research on antimicrobial resistance.
The call to action, published in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, emphasises the need for coordinated action and commitments to meet the threat of antimicrobial resistance and secure a sustainable future for European capacity to counteract antibiotic resistance. The return on investment is low in AMR, and many large pharmaceutical companies have abandoned the field. According to the authors, collaboration and risk-sharing can help keep companies in anti-infective drug development.
“Without a long-term funding strategy for antibiotics research and development, there is a significant risk that the AMR Accelerator’s efforts to progress the antibacterial pipeline are lost,” says Anders Karlén, Professor of Computer-Aided Drug Design at Uppsala University and Coordinator of the COMBINE project, responsible for bringing the AMR Accelerator projects together.
The AMR Accelerator portfolio ranges from discovery of new drugs, over clinical trials, to mathematical modelling that can predict the optimal use of vaccines in combatting AMR. Funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative, the AMR Accelerator projects have a combined budget of €479 million. Together, they have progressed 44 antibacterial programmes over the past 5 years, and to date, the efforts have resulted in two completed Phase I studies, and five ongoing Phase I and II studies. However, the funding is only temporary.
“PrIMAVeRa, one of the projects of the AMR Accelerator, is dedicated to creating advanced mathematical models that predict how vaccines and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) can reduce AMR. It is the only project that specifically addresses the use of vaccines in combatting AMR, which is a major untapped resource in the European fight against AMR”, says Ole Olesen, Executive Director of the European Vaccine Initiative (EVI) and Coordinator of PrIMAVeRa.
The success of the AMR Accelerator demonstrates the value of public-private partnerships by strengthening the antibiotic pipeline and providing tools and infrastructure for the global AMR research community. The AMR Accelerator has built a critical mass and created synergies that enable organisations to share expertise and resources. The results are tangible: high quality science, a stronger antibiotic pipeline, and a legacy of research infrastructures including standardised infection models, clinical trial networks, open data resources, complex mathematical modelling and much more. The key challenge for all nine projects is to ensure the long-term sustainability: more commitment and investment is needed from governments, industry, and other stakeholders to protect our capacity to develop new products that can combat AMR.
The call to action was published in the comment section of Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. The text can be freely accessed from the journal’s website between 23 September and 6 October 2024. To access the article after 6 October without a subscription, please visit AMR accelerator Publications.
For questions, please contact
European Vaccine Initiative communication department: communication@euvaccine,
About the AMR Accelerator
The AMR Accelerator programme was launched in 2019, with the aim to accelerate the development of medicines for patients suffering from infections with drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis, nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), and Gram-negative bacteria, and build capability for antibiotics research and development. The programme is funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI). The AMR Accelerator programme includes nine projects: AB-Direct, COMBINE, ERA4TB, GNA NOW, PriMAVeRa, RespiriNTM & RespiriTB, TRIC-TB, and UNITE4TB. Together, the projects have a €479 million budget. The 98 partners represent key stakeholders from academia, industry, small- and medium-sized companies, patient organisations, regulators, and Health Technology Assessment.
Visit the AMR Accelerator website: www.amr-accelerator.eu
AMR Accelerator portfolio: https://amr-accelerator.eu/amr-accelerator-project-portfolio
AMR Accelerator tools & research infrastructures: https://amr-accelerator.eu/tools-and-resources
About PrIMAVeRa
PrIMAVeRa (Predicting the Impact of Monoclonal Antibodies & Vaccines on Antimicrobial Resistance) is dedicated to creating advanced mathematical models that predict how vaccines and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) can reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR). By providing a clearer understanding of the most effective strategies for vaccine and mAb implementation, PrIMAVeRa aims to empower public health officials and policymakers to make informed decisions that maximize public health benefits and economic gains.
PrIMAVeRa has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under Grant Agreement No 101034420. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA.
The AMR Accelerator has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under Grant Agreements No 853967 I 853989 I 853979 I 853932 I 853800 I 853903 I 853976 I 101007873 I 101034420. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA
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