The UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) has welcomed the release of the first progress report from the AMR Industry Alliance, which has assessed the action that is being taken to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
AMR
This first progress report has aggregated data from 36 companies from all four categories represented in the Alliance — a coalition of over 100 biotechnology, diagnostic, generics and research-based biopharmaceutical companies and trade associations.
“It is fantastic to see the steps that industry has taken to tackle one of the world’s most pressing public health challenges,” explained Steve Bates, BIA CEO and vice-chair of the International Confederation of Biotech Associations (ICBA). “There is a great deal of promising science being undertaken in the UK on AMR, but a lack of pull incentives is still preventing significant venture capital investment. This barrier must be removed to enable biotech companies to do more in this field. I hope to see movement from policymakers in this area in 2018.”
Highlights from the report include data showing that 22 Alliance companies invested at least $2 billion in R&D dedicated to AMR-related products in 2016. In addition, two out of three Alliance companies surveyed with marketed AMR products have strategies, policies or plans in place to improve access to their AMR-relevant products.
The Alliance is committed to reporting progress every two years. It is also dedicated to refining its approach to better address the challenges for its members in responding, so that it can achieve greater participation than seen in this first report.