APEC Meeting in Seattle Hears About ‘Australia’s Road to an Antibiotic Pull Incentive’
02 August 2023
MTPConnect’s Andrew Bowskill is attending the APEC2023 Senior Officials meetings in Seattle, Washington this week. Invited to attend by the US Department of Health and Human Services and supported by the APEC Secretariat, he’s presenting on Australia’s efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Speaking today at the start of the two-day APEC Workshop on Incentives to Bring New Antibiotics to APEC Markets, Andrew highlighted the work of AAMRNet, the Australian Antimicrobial Resistance Network set-up and run by MTPConnect with extensive support from industry.
Representatives from AAMRNet supporters and partners SpeeDx, Pfizer, MSD and GARDP also presented.
Antimicrobials are a cornerstone of modern medicine, yet antimicrobial infections are becoming harder to treat, and the pipeline of novel antimicrobials is drying up. Including AMR on the agenda of the APEC2023 meetings, which will be attended by more than 2,000 delegates from the 21 APEC member economies, is important recognition of the urgent need for action to address this market failure.
As co-chair of AAMRNet, Andrew’s presentation, ‘Australia’s Road to an Antibiotic Pull Incentive’, explored Australia’s AMR landscape, and its steps to help ensure equitable access to novel antimicrobials.
The AMR threat and challenges in developing new antibiotics were detailed in a 2021 report by a bipartisan Parliamentary Standing Committee. The report, ‘The New Frontier - Delivering better health for all Australians’, highlighted the importance of increased support for the R&D, translation, commercialisation of new antimicrobials, and ensuring equitable access to them.
On the back of that report, MTPConnect commissioned its own report with specific recommendations and an action plan to help Australia’s healthcare system fight the superbug pandemic.
While the report is yet to be published, Andrew used his APEC presentation to share a sneak peak of the key recommendations.
They range from the establishment of a pilot subscription reimbursement program and reform of Australia’s intellectual property provisions and regulatory pathways to the establishment of a dedicated AMR accelerator.
It also recommends that AMR be formally identified as the 11th National Health Priority Area for Australia.
In addition, the report notes that across the Pacific region, there is a higher burden of infections and a lower supply of antimicrobials, relative to Australia. It nominates several programs that could be leveraged or expanded across the region to support equitable access to antimicrobials.
During his APEC presentation, Andrew took the opportunity to highlight to the international audience Australia’s rich heritage in this area of science – starting with First Nations expertise which includes finding innovative ways to heal wounds and treat infections like eucalyptus and tea tree which continue to be used in modern medicine today.
It also includes Howard Florey, who conducted the first ever clinical trials of penicillin, turning it into the widely available antibiotic that changed modern medicine forever, winning the Nobel Prize in 1945 for his efforts.