Author: Anna Sundin

Ministers of Health and health leaders from the WHO regions gathered at the World Health Assembly on 19 May in Geneva to sign a ‘Call to Action’ on antimicrobial resistance. By forming an ‘Alliance of Champions’, 14 countries signed up to promote political awareness, engagement and leadership on antimicrobial resistance among Heads of State, ministers and global leaders.

“The increase in awareness and discussion on antimicrobial resistance in recent times demonstrate that the world is waking up to the severity of this global problem. We must work together to combat AMR. JPIAMR, with its national research funding organisation members welcome this ‘Call to Action’ as greater world wide activity will also highlight the importance of innovative research to solve the problem of AMR,” said Mats Ulfendahl, Chair of JPIAMR’s Management Board.

JPIAMR works to align international research resources and to mobilise multi-national initiatives to come up with innovative approaches to combat AMR.

For information in English click here

For information in Swedish click here

Call to action  on May 19 2015

 

 

 

On 12 May 2015 at the Latvian Presidency event on Infectious Diseases in Riga, participants debated the efforts on infectious diseases and AMR research in the Baltic area. JPIAMR’s Laura Marin from the International Secretariat and Ioana Ispas, JPIAMR’s Romanian Management Board representative talked in the session ‘European context of research and how to enhance collaboration between Western, Central and Eastern European research’.

 

On 29 April 2015, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that a quarter of countries that responded to a survey have national plans to preserve antimicrobial medicines like antibiotics, but many more countries must also step up to prevent the misuse of antibiotics and reduce spread of antimicrobial resistance.

The WHO survey—which was completed by 133 countries in 2013 and 2014—is the first to capture governments’ own assessments of their response to resistance to antimicrobial medicines used to treat conditions such as bloodstream infections, pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB), malaria and HIV. It summarizes current practices and structures aimed to address the issue, and shows there are significant areas for improvement.

Key findings of the report include:

·      Few countries (34 out of 133 participating in the survey) have a comprehensive national plan to fight resistance to     antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines.

·      Monitoring is key for controlling antibiotic resistance, but it is infrequent. In many countries, poor laboratory capacity, infrastructure and data management are preventing effective surveillance, which can reveal patterns of resistance and identify trends and outbreaks.

·      Sales of antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines without prescription remain widespread, with many countries lacking standard treatment guidelines, increasing the potential for overuse of antimicrobial medicines by the public and medical professionals.

·      Public awareness of the issue is low in all regions, with many people still believing that antibiotics are effective against viral infections.

·      Lack of programmes to prevent and control hospital-acquired infections remains a major problem.
Find out more about WHO’s survey and report here

A lot of diagnostic equipment has been developed but not much of it actually makes it to the market. On 11 May 2015 in London, the Medical Research Council UK on behalf of JPIAMR, is hosting the workshop ‘Identifying the Pathway to Diagnostic Development’ to look at the route from bench to market of diagnostic development. The aim is to develop a step-by-step process, a sort of guideline, for how this process can be achieved. With both the European Commission and President Obama awarding prizes in the millions for developing diagnostic equipment, which can detect antibiotic resistance, this topic is high on the agenda. The money is there, but the route for making it happen is not clear. Researchers from a wide range of disciplines, health care providers and professionals, industry, national and international policy makers and legislators have been invited to define and agree on a best practice process.  

Delegates information booklet

On April 13 2015, Cathy McLeod, Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health announced that Canada is taking part in six projects , which were made possible as part of the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance. This research will help ensure Canadian doctors have the tools they need to treat bacterial infections now and in the future.“Innovation is one of the key components of our Government’s framework for addressing the global health issue of antimicrobial resistance. Today’s announcement shows how Canadian researchers are contributing at the international level. Their work will benefit Canadians and people around the world,” said Cathy McLeod, Canadian M.P. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health.The Government of Canada is investing $4 million to support researchers at the University of British Columbia, McMaster University and Université Laval. These Canadian researchers will work with international partners on the six projects , that focus on identifying new targets for antimicrobial drug development, new approaches to treating drug-resistant bacterial infections, and methods for preserving the effectiveness of existing antibiotics.For example, Dr. Natalie Strynadka, a researcher at UBC and the Canada Research Chair in Antibiotic Discovery and Medicine, will contribute to two projects, including one that aims to find new molecules to prevent the inactivation of beta-lactam antibiotics such as penicillin.Together with this statement, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) issued a fact sheet, which can be downloaded here 

Quick Facts 

• Antimicrobial resistance develops when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change so that the medicines, such as antibiotics, used to treat these germs become less effective and sometimes do not work at all. While antimicrobial resistance can happen naturally, a major contributor is the overuse and misuse of antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines.
• The Government of Canada released its Antimicrobial Resistance and Use in Canada: A Federal Framework for Action on October 24, 2014.
• The Federal Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance and Use, released on March 31, 2015, builds on the Framework by identifying concrete steps that will be undertaken by the Government of Canada in the areas of stewardship, surveillance, and innovation.
• The Government of Canada is a major supporter of research related to antimicrobial resistance, investing more than $143 million through CIHR since 2006.
• Through CIHR, Canada is a member of the international Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance. CIHR is investing $4 million to support six projects involving Canadian researchers under this initiative.

  

The Swedish publication ‘Dagens Medicin’ has today, 1 April 2015, published an article by Mats Ulfendahl, JPIAMR’s Chair of the Management Board. The article is written in response to the discussion around a new Swedish AMR strategy which was held at the beginning of March. Mats emphasises the importance of coordinating international AMR funding to create greater impact. He also puts focus on this method bringing funding to countries where AMR is highly prevalent but where research funding for this field is scarce. In addition, the article talks about the need to create greater communication and collaboration across disciplines to better understand the interaction between humans, animals and the environment in the context of AMR.
Read the article here (in Swedish).

 The deadline for completing the survey on AMR research infrastructures has been extended until 15 April 2015. If you haven’t yet taken part in the survey, why not do so now. With this short survey, the JPIAMR hopes to identify the needs and wishes of the AMR scientific community regarding the collaboration with and use of RIs. We would also like to know whether there is an opportunity for the JPIAMR to help bring people working in RIs and AMR (closer) together, and if so, in what way(s).If you are interested in taking part in the survey, click here. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JPIAMR-RIs

 

Far more money needs to be invested into global drug research to tackle the impending crisis of antimicrobial resistance, reports economist Jim O’Neill in his initial recommendations to the UK Government on 5 February this year. “Drug-resistant infections will kill an extra 10 million people a year by 2050,” warns O’Neill.
Laura Piddock, new vice-chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR) agrees: “The time to make up the gap between funding of chronic disease and AMR is now. Many practices of modern medicine – from chemotherapy to surgery – are only made possible by antibiotics.”
Laura brings with her extensive expertise in the AMR field to make sure JPIAMR’s scientific focus follows the identified strategic route. She is Professor of Microbiology at the University of Birmingham where she runs the Antimicrobials Research Group. She is also the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Chair in Public Engagement and in this role is the Director of Antibiotic Action. Her current research focuses on understanding mechanisms of antibiotic resistance as a basis for drug discovery.
“The Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance bridges the gap between the recommendations of the World Health Organisation and European AMR strategies. The only way we can solve the problem of antibiotic resistance is to pool resources worldwide and JPIAMR can help do this, “ said Laura.
The JPIAMR has so far focused on developing a Strategic Research Agenda, a blue print to focus worldwide research efforts and a guideline for research funding. Following the recommendations in the agenda will allow future research actions to systematically tackle the problem of AMR. “The Strategic Research Agenda, which was launched in April 2014, has been widely praised by for example Jim O’Neill,” said Laura. “Now we must work to implement the agenda,” she continued.
2014 saw JPIAMR launch its first call for research proposals based on the contribution of national funding agencies. Laura was part of a consortium that applied but was not successful. She said: “When I saw the funded projects I didn’t feel so disappointed to be turned down. They are really excellent. It shows that JPIAMR is attracting the very best.”
The only way to tackle the problem of AMR is to understand resistance, change behaviour and to find new treatments. Laura emphasised that to reach this goal, it is very important that JPIAMR funds research covering all aspects from basic research through to very applied research.
“There really isn’t enough funding at the moment, as the O’Neill report found, and so far, funding has been skew towards either basic or clinical research but not much linking the two,” said Laura. There is also a real need to attract more young researchers as this will stimulate innovation and boost the field further. JPIAMR is planning to launch more calls in 2015 by linking up with the European Commission’s ERA-Net scheme in addition to other JPIAMR calls. Ultimately, the initiative aims to create a truly integrated funding landscape for AMR research.
In addition, JPIAMR has been busy mapping current funding in the EU member states to help prevent replication of research funding during a time when little funding is available. “The mapping will tell us whether countries are funding AMR at an adequate level or if there is a need to re-align national funding policies to include AMR.”
Ultimately, human mismanagement of antibiotics has allowed bacteria to develop resistance to treatment. It is now our responsibility to try to understand how we can return to an era where antibiotics are again the miracle cures they once were.

Further info:
Laura Piddock
Laura Piddock is Professor of Microbiology. Since she started her PhD in 1982, she has been at the forefront of antimicrobial research. Laura started her career in a clinical environment and has successfully integrated this background with academic research. She has published 163 original articles in international peer reviewed journals, 47 invited review articles, 21 research letters, 133 conference proceedings and six chapters in academic books.

utveckling.jpiamr.eu
www.antimicrobialagentsresearchgroup.com
http://antibiotic-action.com

 

Mats Ulfendahl, chair of the JPIAMR management board, welcomes the Government’s message to adopt a ‘One Health’ approach to tackle the global problem of antibiotic resistance. This communication comes after a meeting on 9 March 2015 where Ulfendahl was an advisor to Swedish representatives from the Agricultural, Education and Research and Health ministries.

The Swedish Government recognises the importance of international collaboration as well as cross-disciplinary work to be able to understand and develop new techniques to counteract antibiotic resistance and mentions the JPIAMR as an important initiative working towards this goal.
Read more.