ISGlobal and 19 European bodies to share knowledge to combat antimicrobial resistance
The initiative, funded by the IMI and EFPIA, will promote a network of European centers to carry out clinical trials and create a registry of novel agents to treat patients with antimicrobial-resistant infections.
By Biocat
The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a global benchmark in research on malaria, neglected tropical diseases and other areas of global health, is participating in the European Combacte project (Combatting Bacterial Resistance in Europe) to put an end to antimicrobial resistance. The key aim of the project is to create a network of European clinical research centers to carry out trials to register novel agents to treat patients with antimicrobial-resistant infections. The project will design and validate tests to help in diagnosis, identify the most suitable treatments and monitor patient response.
This €194.6-millions project is funded mainly by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), a public-private partnership of the European Commission and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), under the New Drugs for Bad Bugs (ND4BB) program. A total of twenty research bodies, hospitals, universities and pharmaceutical companies from Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland are participating. The three multinational pharmaceutical corporations involved are GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Janssen.
The project is interesting as it address the pharmaceutical need to find new antibiotics to combat resistance to these drugs seen nowadays, which cause 25,000 deaths each year in Europe. Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses and specific parasites become immune to the effects of antibiotic, antiviral and antimalarial drugs. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the fact that treatments to cure infections are becoming ineffective is the result of their use and abuse.
ISGlobal is a center created by the University of Barcelona (UB), Hospital Clínic and Government of Catalonia that carries out scientific activity through the Barcelona Center for International Health Research (CRESIB). Participating in a project like Combacte reinforces the institution’s international presence and once again validates its importance.
More information is available on the ISGlobal website.