More than 80 leading international pharmaceutical, generics, diagnostics
and biotechnology companies, as well as key industry bodies, have come together
to call on governments and industry to work in parallel in taking comprehensive
action against drug-resistant infections - so-called 'superbugs' - with a joint
declaration launched today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The statement sets out for the first time how governments and industry need to
work together to support sustained investment in the new products needed to
beat the challenges of rising drug resistance.
The Declaration on Combating
Antimicrobial Resistance - drafted and signed by 85 companies and nine industry
associations across 18 countries - represents a major milestone in the global
response to these challenges, with commercial drug and diagnostic developers
for the first time agreeing on a common set of principles for global action to
support antibiotic conservation and the development of new drugs, diagnostics,
and vaccines. The industry is calling on governments around the world to now go
beyond existing statements of intent and take concrete action, in collaboration
with companies, to support investment in the development of antibiotics,
diagnostics, vaccines, and other products vital for the prevention and
treatment of drug-resistant infections.
In particular, the Declaration
supports a continuation of efforts towards improved conservation of
antibiotics, including a call for improved uptake of rapid point-of-care
diagnostics to improve how antibiotics are prescribed, and changes to incentive
structures within health systems that directly reward doctors, pharmacists and
veterinarians for prescribing antibiotics in greater volumes.
In what the Review on
Antimicrobial Resistance recognises to be a notable step for the industry,the
signatory companies call on governments to work with them to develop new and
alternative market structures that provide more dependable and sustainable
market models for antibiotics, and to commit the funds needed to implement
them. These mechanisms are needed to provide appropriate incentives (coupled
with safeguards to support antibiotic conservation) for companies to invest in
R&D to overcome the formidable technical and scientific challenges of
antibiotic discovery and development. These include mechanisms to ensure that,
where appropriate, the pricing of antibiotics more adequately reflects the
benefits they bring; and novel payment models that reduce the link between the
profitability of an antibiotic and the volume sold. An integral part of these
models is a reduced need for promotional activity by companies.
As well as calling for
continued progress by governments on these fronts, the Declaration sets out a
commitment to further action on drug resistance by its signatories, which the
Review warmly welcomes. These span across three broad areas:
- Reducing the development of drug resistance. The companies commit to encouraging better and more appropriate use of new and existing antibiotics, including through work that supports the antibiotic stewardship principles set out by the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and via improved education of clinicians. This support extends to promoting more judicious use of antibiotics in livestock, as part of a 'one health' approach.
- Increasing investment in R&D that meets global public health needs. Recognising the need to increase research into new antibiotics, diagnostics, vaccines and other alternative treatments, the companies commit to a continuation and extension of collaborative initiatives between industry, academia and public bodies to improve how R&D in the field is done and provide greater opportunities for the scientific barriers to antibiotic discovery to be overcome.
- Improve access to high-quality antibiotics for all. In light of the gaps that remain in global access to our existing antibiotics and vaccines, and the importance of ensuring that new generations of products are available to all those who need them, the signatories commit to supporting initiatives aimed at ensuring affordable access to antibiotics in all parts of the world, at all levels of income.
By bringing together such a
wide range of companies in this unprecedented way, the Declaration provides a
valuable roadmap to guide further collaborative efforts between industry,
governments and NGOs in the global fightback against AMR. The Review will
continue to work to drive progress towards a series of key international
milestones in 2016 - including likely discussions on AMR at the UN General
Assembly and as part of China's G20 programme in the autumn - and in support of
progress against the WHO Global Action Plan on AMR.
The Declaration will be
updated every two years, to take account of the evolving global landscape of
AMR and changing challenges and priorities. It remains open to accept new
signatory companies and bodies at any time, with a complete list maintained on
the Review on AMR's website, www.amr-review.org/industry-declaration