Australian public-private partnership releases first paper on antimicrobial resistance

Diagnostics & MedTech News: An Australian public-private partnership dedicated to overcoming barriers to commercialisation and advancing antimicrobial stewardship innovations has released its first published paper.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is recognised as one of the greatest scientific challenges of the 21st century, disproportionately affecting people living in low- and middle-income countries. As bacterial pathogens become increasingly resistant to antibiotics, the urgent need for innovative approaches to combat this growing threat is more critical than ever.

Authored by SpeeDx Co-founders Alison Todd AM and Elisa Mokany, the paper features contributions from scientists at The Kirby Institute, Monash University, Peter Doherty Institute and the University of Technology, among others.

The AMR Hub, comprising over 20 organisations, aims to foster multidisciplinary collaborations across various sectors to develop holistic solutions addressing the barriers to commercialising tools designed to minimise the risks of AMR. This initiative emphasises the importance of a comprehensive understanding of the true value of antimicrobial stewardship to inform global policy effectively. It necessitates transformative shifts in societal norms, behaviours, and healthcare practices, along with the restructuring of healthcare financing mechanisms.

“We can no longer only rely on the development of new drugs or indeed diagnostic or stewardship innovations alone to solve the multidimensional problem of AMR. We require a range of low-cost, implementable and rapidly adaptable technologies to support broader social, economic and commercial outcomes,” the authors state.

Focusing its research on sexually transmitted infections, which are increasingly resistant to antibiotics and have limited alternative treatments in development, the AMR Hub is working on several fronts. Investigators are developing novel diagnostics, optimising treatments, identifying tools to detect active bacterial infections, and engaging stakeholders to optimise AMR innovation.

Through a multidisciplinary ecosystem spanning various sectors, the AMR Hub seeks to fast-track the development of adaptable technologies, new antibiotics, and stewardship innovations for prevention. The initiative also addresses the societal, economic, and commercial aspects of AMR solutions, aiming to provide sustainable answers to this complex issue.

The authors conclude, “AMR solutions must be addressed from the perspective of awareness and prevention, requiring highly collaborative private–public partnerships across sectors to secure predictable market opportunities and solutions. To address this need, the AMR Hub fosters an ecosystem of innovative science, technology, engineering and antimicrobial stewardship to mitigate AMR now and provide sustainable solutions into the future.”

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