Antibiotic resistance under the microscope
ANTIBIOTIC resistance, one of the burning issues facing the medical and pharma sectors, will be debated at a major event in the region this autumn.
Top economist Lord Jim O’Neill has been confirmed as the keynote speaker at the BioInfect 2015 event at Alderley Park, Cheshire, on November 10, where the best approach to the problem will be discussed.
The issue was cast into the spotlight last week when public health chiefs declared an outbreak of anti-biotic -resistant gonorrhoea, with 16 cases confirmed, the majority in Leeds but with some in Oldham and Macclesfield.
As well as Lord O’Neill, attendees and speakers include policy makers, public health experts, academics and senior executives from the pharmaceutical and animal health industries.
Lord O’Neill is head of the review established by the government to look at the economic impact of antimicrobial resistance. His team has already set out initial proposals to overhaul the global antibiotics pipeline over the next 10 years, with final recommendations due by the summer of 2016.
His study has also calculated that failure to tackle resistance to superbugs could cause 10 million extra deaths a year and cost up to $100 trillion by 2050.
Dr Geoff Davison, chief executive of Bionow, the life science membership body for the North of England said: “The diminishing effectiveness of antibiotics threatens the prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections.
“It represents such an unparalleled threat to global public health that in order to address it requires coordinated global action across all government sectors and society as a whole. We very much welcome the attendance of Jim O’Neill and his team, who are in the vanguard of the UK’s response to the issue, along with leading authorities in human and animal health from around the world.”
Dr Neil Murray, chief executive of Redx Pharma Plc, the largest UK biotech working on the development of new antibiotics, added: “The World Health Organisation has been calling for action for years to combat the growing problem of resistance.
“Events like BioInfect have an important role to play in helping share knowledge, foster collaboration and inspire the level of innovation required to tackle this multi-faceted problem. The O’Neill Review has given this issue the priority it deserves and it is down to the industry and public at large to meet the challenge of implementing the Review’s recommendations.”
