Author: Anna Sundin

This ERAnet Cofund call, JPI-EC-AMR, with over 20 participating countries will open in January 2016 and will support multidisciplinary research networks to conduct collaborative and complementary studies that will unravel the complex dynamics of selection and transmission of antimicrobial resistance to understand the mechanisms that contribute to the spread of resistance.

JPIAMR is dedicated to ‘One Health’ where multiple disciplines work together to identify and characterise the determinants that contribute to the spread of resistance in and between different reservoirs; including animals, the environment, and people. Investigating the complex biology and epidemiology of selection and transmission of resistance is crucial in order to design preventive measures to address this public health threat.

To unravel the dynamics of transmission and selection of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at genetic, bacterial, animal, human, societal, and environmental levels, in order to design and evaluate preventive and intervening measures for controlling resistance.

To ensure that young researchers in the field of infectious disease reach their full potential, it is essential that the younger generation of microbiologists, clinicians and biotechnologists have access to the best possible training and career development opportunities at all stages of their professional life. Therefor, the FP7 project Infect-ERA plans a young scientists training and networking workshop that will take place in Budapest on 14 October 2015.

This workshop will include talks from first class speakers and hands on training in scientific writing. It will present career opportunities with special focus on intellectual property and commercialization aspects. This workshop is free, open to all scientists (no age restriction), but requires registration.

If you’re interested, read more on Infect-ERA’s website.

At the end of 2015, JPIAMR will launch a rapid-action call for leading scientists in the field to establish international research networks.

The research networks will establish scientific synergies and produce guidelines, recommendations or best practice frameworks, among other outputs that will be of value to the broader AMR research community. These will be made available through the JPIAMR website.

More information will be available at the end of September.

During the First Innovative Enterprise Week in Riga, the EIB Group and the European Commission (EC) have launched three new financial products to boost the competitiveness of innovative companies in Europe under the “InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators” programme. 

JPIAMR particularly welcomes ‘InnovFin Infectious Diseases’ which will support that new drugs, vaccines and medical and diagnostic devices, also in the AMR field, are made available faster to people who need them. These financial products allow projects with a higher risk factor to receive loans. EUR 100m has been allocated initially to each of the three products to kick-start the initiatives.

Read press release

On 12 May 2015, JPIAMR closed its 2^nd call for proposals with 16 first stage proposals submitted. Proposals came from 10 different organisations in 9 countries; Argentina, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and the US. This call was looking for proposals to repurpose neglected antibiotics and characterise antibiotics, or antibiotic and non-antibiotic combinations to overcome bacterial antibiotic resistance. The call topic was one of the highlights of discussion at the recent Uppsala Health Summit, 2-3 June 2015, which brought together leading players in the field to discuss future actions to combat AMR.

The proposals are now going through the peer review process and successful first stage proposals will be invited, at the end of June, to submit full proposals by 25 August 2015. The final awarded projects will be announced in November 2015.

Second joint call

On 8 June 2015, world leaders gathered at the G7 meeting voiced strong support for the the World Health Organization’s (WHO) first Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). In line with JPIAMR’s vision and goals, WHO’s Global Action Plan which recognises a two-fold approach to combating AMR:

• Conserving the effectiveness of existing and future antimicrobials; and
• Engaging in research and development for new antimicrobials, vaccines, treatment alternatives and rapid diagnostic tools.

The G7 group outlined the One Health approach, which encompasses all areas of human and animal health, as well as agriculture and the environment, and acknowledged the need for a holistic approach, alongside concrete measures, to retain the effectiveness of antimicrobial agents.

• Foster prudent use of antibiotics
• Increase knowledge and responsible use of antibiotics
• Phase out the use of antibiotics for growth promotion in animal husbandry in the absence of risk analysis
• Increase awareness, knowledge, prevention and control of infections
• Strengthen surveillance of existing and emerging patterns of AMR to help develop effective strategies to fight it
• Stimulate innovation and increase basic research
• Develop and improve access to alternative therapies, vaccines and rapid point-of-care diagnostics
• Pool national efforts and hold a G7 meeting to promote the responsible use of antibiotics and share best practices

These are all commitments in line with JPIAMR’s ambitions and the initiative fully supports the ‘One Health’ approach. Investing in research and taking on a holistic approach is key to combat antimicrobial resistance.

On 2^nd June 2015 in Brussels, JPIAMR took part in the meeting ‘Societal Stakeholders in Joint Programming’ organised by the Joint Programming Initiative on More Years, Better Lives. The meeting discussed different ways of engaging stakeholders in the different societal challenges tackled by Joint Programming. Engaging stakeholders is crucial to make Joint Programming a success. Each JPI is organised slightly different, but stakeholder engagement to form a collaborative platform is at the core of each JPI. 

 

On 19 May 2015, MEPs adopted a resolution to tackle the increase of drug-resistant diseases. The recommendations, written by Italian MEP Piernicola Pedicini (EFDD), welcomed the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR). The AMR initiative allows Member States to agree on research needs to avoid duplication, and calls for increased alignment of research funding to combat antimicrobial resistance.

“25,000 citizens die every year in Europe owing to the growing resistance to existing antimicrobials, so we must stimulate research into new types of substances. In the veterinary sector, online sales of antimicrobials and their prophylactic use should be prevented”, said Pedicini further emphasizing the need for the JPI to align research efforts in a holistic manner.

“We are very pleased that JPIAMR’s work is recognised at a political level and that research has been highlighted as crucial in the combat against AMR,” said Mats Ulfendahl, Chair of JPIAMR’s Management Board. “Innovative collaborative research into understanding all areas of resistance is the only way to ensure sustainable solutions,” he continued.

Human antibiotics: diagnose before prescribing

The measures proposed to ensure that antibiotics are used more responsibly include:

• strictly prohibiting their use without prescription,
  • requiring a microbiological diagnosis before prescribing antibiotics,
  • implementing marketing practices designed to prevent conflicts of interest between producers and prescribers, and
  • improving information on the monitoring of antimicrobial consumption and antimicrobial resistance and infection control.

MEPs also urge pharmaceutical companies to invest in developing new antimicrobial agents, and ask the European Commission to consider proposing a “legislative framework” to encourage the development of new antibiotic drugs.

Veterinary antibiotics: restrict preventive use

MEPs also advocate responsible use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine, including medicated feed, by allowing their use only for treatment after veterinary diagnosis.

The use of veterinary antibiotics should therefore gradually be restricted to therapeutic purposes, by progressively eliminating their use for prophylactic ones. The use of metaphylaxis, i.e. the mass medication of animals to cure sick ones on farms whilst preventing the infection of healthy ones, should also be kept to a minimum, say MEPs.

The resolution was adopted with 637 votes for, 32 against and 10 abstentions.

More information:

• Parliament press release ‘MEPs propose blueprint for safer healthcare’
• European Parliament resolution of 19 May 2015 on safer healthcare in Europe

 

The first assessment window to win the Longitude Prize closed on 31 May 2015 and the judging panel will now begin assessing the first round of entries. The Longitude Prize is a £10m prize fund that will reward a competitor that can develop a  point–of–care diagnostic test that will conserve antibiotics for future generations and revolutionise the delivery of global healthcare. The test must be accurate, rapid, affordable, easy–to–use and available to anyone, anywhere in the world. It will identify when antibiotics are needed and, if they are, which ones to use.

The judging panel will decide which among the submitted diagnostic prototypes will go on for further testing. If an entry passes the testing phase, it will then go to the Longitude Committee, which will decide whether you are the winner of this historic prize.

The Longitude Prize opens a second round of submissions in four months time. If you have a diagnostics prototype for detecting infectious disease and would like to apply in the next round, find more information here

On 2-3 June 2015, JPIAMR’s Laura Marin, Bertrand Schwartz and Ghada Zoubiane will be at the Uppsala Health Summit to discuss ‘A world without antibiotics’. The summit calls for a concerted effort to tackle the antibiotic crisis.

‘Antibiotic Resistance is a complex problem driven by many interconnected factors. As such, single, isolated interventions have little impact. Coordinated action is required to minimize emergence and spread.’ 

JPIAMR fully endorses this sentiment and through our work, we are coordinating international research actions to find new ways of reducing antimicrobial resistance and developing new treatments for infectious diseases. We provide a platform where innovative collaborative activities can be developed which covers all areas of the problem from surveillance via diagnostics all the way to changing behaviour.

With this in mind, JPIAMR has special interest in the workshop ‘Environmental Dimensions of Antibiotic Resistance’. Taking a holistic approach where all aspects of the causes of antimicrobial resistances are taken into account is the only way to turn the tide. During the workshop, JPIAMR will join discussions on environmental risk management of emissions of antibiotics from pharmaceutical manufacturing, of emissions of human sewage/municipal wastewater and of emissions from agricultural sources.

Come and speak to Laura, Bertrand or Ghada at the Uppsala Health Summit to find out more about the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance. We offer opportunities for new members and collaborators to take part in an international platform and connect with world-wide experts in the AMR field.  We also offer funding opportunities for researchers.