AMR Industry Alliance Calls on UN and Member States to Commit to and Advance Bold, Coordinated Action on Antimicrobial Resistance

In the lead-up to the High-level Meeting on AMR, Alliance calls for increased coordination in public and private sectors.

Geneva – February 27, 2024 – The AMR Industry Alliance, the largest industry group dedicated to combating the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), launched its formal call-to-action in the lead-up to the United Nation’s High-level Meeting on AMR in September 2024. The Alliance and its members from biotech, diagnostics, generics, and research-based pharmaceutical companies collectively work to make progress in the fight against AMR.

“The UN High-level Meeting in September is a critical opportunity to come together to address antimicrobial resistance,” said James Anderson, Board Chair of the AMR Industry Alliance. “Combatting AMR requires a broad, multi-stakeholder approach. We’re pleased to launch industry’s call-to-action to drive cooperation with our private and public sector partners as we approach this pivotal moment.”

Members of the Alliance call on the UN and its Member States to increase their efforts in the fight against AMR, to work with stakeholders in the public and private sectors to identify and prioritize risk-based solutions to drastically curb the spread of AMR, and to include ambitious and measurable actions in the High-level Declaration on AMR, including:

• Strengthen responsible manufacturing of antibiotics worldwide;
• Transform the antimicrobial R&D ecosystem by establishing a functioning and sustainable market;
• Remove barriers to equitable antimicrobial access and enable a sustainable and robust global supply chain; and
• Improve the appropriate use of antimicrobials through better valuation and investment in diagnostics.

Manufacturing: To facilitate responsible manufacturing, the Alliance published its Antibiotic Manufacturing Standard in 2022, which sets clear expectations for manufacturers in the global antibiotic supply chain to ensure that their antibiotics are made responsibly, helping to minimize the risk of AMR in the environment. In 2023, the British Standards Institution (BSI) launched the first Minimized Risk of Antimicrobial Resistance certification, allowing companies to independently confirm that an antibiotic is made in accordance with the requirements of the Standard.

The Alliance calls on the UN and its Member States to adopt the Antibiotic Manufacturing Standard as part of their tendering and reimbursement policies and to incentivize all antibiotic manufacturers and suppliers to be certified per the standard through third-party certification.

Antimicrobial Research and Development ecosystem: Continuous innovation is needed to stay ahead of evolving resistance. Despite the urgent need to deliver the next line of defense against bacterial infections, the development of new products has been decreasing and the pipeline for new antibiotics is recognized as insufficient. More is needed in the form of market-based incentives to drive antimicrobial R&D and encourage researchers and medical specialists to stay dedicated to this critical area of medicine and research. The Alliance published its report on “Leaving the Lab” that brings to light the issue.

The Alliance calls on the UN and its Member States to transform the market for antimicrobials with new incentives that encourage companies, investors, and researchers to invest in antimicrobial innovation and market launches.

Access: Barriers to antimicrobial access include the heterogeneity of regulatory systems globally; antimicrobial prices that are sometimes set too low to recoup manufacturing, supply, and other costs; supply chain instability and logistical issues; and the lack of demand predictability. Earlier this year, the Alliance released its Equitable & Responsible Access Roadmap to outline steps that can be taken to tackle the barriers of regulatory issues, demand forecasting, and procurement challenges. Mitigating access barriers requires a multi-stakeholder approach where governments, the private sector, multilateral organizations, healthcare professionals, and civil society work together.

The Alliance calls on the UN and its Member States to take actionable steps to ensure equitable access to antimicrobials around the world by removing barriers to registration, accelerating approvals, improving forecasting through better data collection and surveillance, and reforming antimicrobial procurement practices.

Appropriate Use: Appropriate prescribing of antimicrobials by physicians is critical for patient safety and drug effectiveness and is vital for stemming the emergence of AMR. Diagnostics improve the quality of care, promote wellness, and often reduce healthcare costs. However, many diagnostic tests are not being fully utilized in healthcare systems around the world, impeding their efficacy in support of several challenges to appropriate antimicrobial use.

The Alliance calls on the UN and its Member States to improve the appropriate use of antimicrobials by utilizing diagnostic tests and implementing stewardship programs, prioritizing investments in laboratory infrastructure, improving the valuation of diagnostics based on their short- and long-term value, expanding surveillance of AMR at the local, national, and global levels, and establishing consensus on meaningful and feasible AMS metrics to track progress.

The Alliance was formed in 2017, following two declarations of industry commitments to address AMR: the 2016 “Declaration by the Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, and Diagnostics Industries on Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance” and at the first UN High-Level Meeting on AMR in 2016.

Read the full AMR Industry Alliance Call-To-Action.

About the AMR Industry Alliance

The AMR Industry Alliance is one of the largest private sector coalitions set up to provide sustainable solutions to curb antimicrobial resistance, with over 100 biotechnology, diagnostics, generics, and research-based pharmaceutical companies and associations joining forces. It facilitates collaboration, reports on the industry’s contribution to the fight against AMR and engages with external stakeholders.