AMR Action Fund

UCLA researchers have identified a strain of extensively drug-resistant Shigella sonnei that appears to be unique to Los Angeles and has not been recorded anywhere else, yet. The initial report detailed infections among three men, but a co-author of the research cautioned that “what we found is probably only a fraction of what’s really in the community.” Research showed the strain was resistant to numerous classes of antibiotics, including cephalosporins. As AMR Action Fund CEO Henry Skinner told the Los Angeles Times, “The bacterium detailed in this report is resistant to some of our most widely used antibiotics, including ciprofloxacin and azithromycin — medicines that tens of thousands of patients depend on daily. With so few new antibiotics in development, it’s very concerning to learn that an XDR strain of Shigella may be gaining a foothold in the U.S.” Read the open-access study in the American Journal of Clinical Infection: https://lnkd.in/eXjCfkCe Read the Los Angeles Times’ coverage: https://lnkd.in/erDfqvS9

Interesting reporting on the persistence of Candida auris in Nevada. “Since September 2022, more than 100 new cases per month have been reported. That increased to at least 150 cases per month a year later, including four months in a row above 200 cases. The highest number of cases came in March 2024, when 293 were reported — 59 clinical infections and 234 colonization cases.” Full news report: https://lnkd.in/eMqFVE9V

Thanks again to all our panelists for an insightful discussion on the ways in which war is amplifying the threat of AMR. And thanks to Senator Todd Young, who noted that, “From Ukraine to the Middle East to Haiti, drug-resistant bacteria multiply in conflict zones, endangering the lives of not only soldiers, but civilians as well…And with our interconnected world, these superbugs can easily be carried across borders and spread among populations.”

Congratulations to our Board Chair, William Burns, on receiving this year’s Scrip Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, a tremendous and well-earned honor. As noted in this article, Bill’s guiding hand has helped usher in breakthroughs in cancer care and safeguard global public health against threats such as bird flu. Antibiotics have long been a passion of his, going back to his earliest days at Beecham, where he helped launch amoxicillin. The AMR Action Fund is grateful for his leadership and admires his tireless advocacy efforts to build awareness of antimicrobial resistance. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gBnb_HXe

As Canada prepares to assume the G7 presidency, it has a singular opportunity to improve patient outcomes in Canada and globally by designing and implementing a meaningfully sized pull incentive that secures access to needed antimicrobials for Canadian patients and incentivizes private investment into the next generation of therapeutics to treat drug-resistant bacterial and fungal infections. I had the pleasure of highlighting the importance of Canada’s leadership at last week’s AMR Symposium in Toronto at a joint session with Sepsis Canada and Critical Care Canada, hosted by bioMérieux and the University of Toronto’s Emerging & Pandemic Infections Consortium. Today, I co-authored a piece in The Hill Times with Innovative Medicines Canada - Médicaments novateurs Canada emphasizing the need for Canada to act now and get the right-sized pull incentive in place. In addition to being Canada’s fair contribution to solving the AMR innovation gap, such a pull incentive could also serve as a model for other G7 governments. Canada must not squander this chance—the costs of inaction are simply too great. https://lnkd.in/esVnc5PF

A review in the Lancet Infectious Diseases concluded that refugees and asylum seekers are nearly three times as likely to be colonized or infected with drug-resistant bacteria as the host-country population. The researchers looked at 41 studies published from 2015 through October 2023 and found that most common #AMR phenotypes were MDR gram-negative bacteria, MRSA, and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase–producing gram-negative bacteria. The most common reason for displacement? War. An overview of the research can be found here via Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP): https://lnkd.in/esvsv92B And the study can be accessed here: https://lnkd.in/eXT3CN-a

A powerful look from BBC StoryWorks at how #AMR affects cancer patients.

Congratulations to portfolio company TenNor Therapeutics on the successful completion of its Phase III study of rifasutenizol for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. The study met its primary endpoints, showing multiple advantages of the rifasutenizol regimen compared the current standard of care. As TenNor notes, rifasutenizol could play an important role in efforts to prevent gastric cancers in high-risk populations. Learn more about TenNor and the Phase III here: https://lnkd.in/eDWh4FTa #AMR #WAAW2024

The theme of this year’s World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week is “Educate. Advocate. Act now.” In that spirit, we’re sharing a new Harvard Public Health magazine op-ed from Henry Skinner that examines how hurricanes, floods, and storm surges are increasing the risk of bacterial infections and discusses what policymakers can do to mitigate infections before, during, and after storms. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e5GySWQu #AMR #WAAW

At the 4th Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance, CEO Henry Skinner emphasized the need for governments to incentivize antimicrobial R&D in a way that attracts investment while ensuring global access to urgently needed therapies. “We need to ensure we reward innovation while providing physicians with new treatments for their patients,” he said.