Combating Antimicrobial Resistance

The 21st of January, a significant step was taken on the important and resonant healthcare subject of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): The Declaration by the Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Diagnostics Industries on Combating Antimicrobial Resistance was launched at the World Economic Forum this day in Davos, Switzerland. The Declaration, written and signed by 85 companies and 9 industrial associations from 18 countries, was the first agreement to be done between both pharmaceutical and diagnostic industries.

What is the Declaration about?

Read the Declaration here.

In the Declaration, signatory companies call on governments of all countries to actively take part in the fight against AMR by developing and investing in “new and alternative market structures” and to address it to the public as a leading worldwide public health problem.

Rapid diagnostics would reduce unnecessary prescription

The declaration insists on the importance of preserving antibiotics for two reasons. First the development of new antibiotics has collapsed during the last decade. Second, our misuse of antibiotics enhances antimicrobial resistance leading to the fast spread of bacteria with serious sanitary problems – example with the spread of NDM-1 bacteria in 2010, originating from India in 2010.

For this purpose, the first World Antibiotic Awareness Week 16-22 November 2015 was launched to give good practices’ awareness in the use of antibiotics. The difficulty of finding new antibiotics associated with the increase of antimicrobial resistance brings serious interrogations towards the availability of efficient therapeutic options for the future.

What can be done?

New rapid diagnostics would optimise treatment

Consequently, the urgent main objective is to develop new diagnostic tools during the research process for new antimicrobial. Indeed, increasing R&D investment will provide greater opportunities to overcome scientific barriers to antibiotic discovery. Moreover, the emergence of rapid on-site diagnostic tools will improve antibiotics prescription leading to a more appropriate use of existing and new antibiotics. The Point-of-Care (P-O-C) microbiological diagnostic device of DIAGORAS aims to bring answers to this matter allowing on-site rapid and accurate prescription. Having an on-site diagnostic tool that can detect respiratory and oral infections, along with antibiotic resistances within 1 hour, will reduce time-to-diagnosis, patient mortality and incorrect antibiotic use. It will also have a significant impact on healthcare costs as the optimal treatment will be established more rapidly.

See actions taken by European Comission and the Universal Health Coverage.