September 2021

NEWSLETTER OF THE FRENCH NATIONAL
ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE PORTAL

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

• Pre-announcement: French Priority Research Programme call for Junior and Senior AMR researcher positions
  Following the research call “Antibiotic resistance: understand, innovate, act” and the three calls for structuring tools and platforms, the French Priority Research Programme (PPR) on Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), coordinated by Inserm and funded by the Investments for the Future programme (PIA), in collaboration with the French National Research Agency, will launch in September 2021 a research call for junior and senior researcher positions.
• Results of the French national calls for structuring tools, 3 projects selected: ABRomics-PF, PROMISE, DOSA
  On the 1^st October 2020, 3 calls for structuring tools were launched by Inserm, coordinator of the Priority Research Programme (Programme Prioritaire de Recherche, PPR) on Antimicrobial resistance, financed with a €40 million budget by the Government. These calls represent the 2nd action of the PPR on Antimicrobial Resistance. The three selected projects - ABRomics-PF, PROMISE and DOSA - were evaluated by an international jury and are funded with a total budget of € 4M.
• First-line antibiotic therapy: recommendation sheets from the French National Authority for Health
  The French National Health Authority (HAS) provides healthcare professionals with a series of recommendation sheets for the choice and shortest duration of antibiotic therapy available for common bacterial infections treated by general practitioners, including 19 bacterial infection-specific sheets.
• GARDP, CHAI and Shionogi announce a memorandum of understanding to increase access to antibiotic to treat antimicrobial resistant infections in low- and middle-income countries
  The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP), the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and Shionogi & Co., Ltd announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to accelerate access, including in low- and middle-income countries, to the antibiotic cefiderocol for bacterial infections in patients with limited treatment options.
• U.S. Senators Todd Young and Michael Bennet reintroduced the Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions to End Upsurging Resistance (PASTEUR) Act
  U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) reintroduced the Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions to End Upsurging Resistance (PASTEUR) Act to encourage innovative drug development targeting the most threatening infections, improve the appropriate use of antibiotics, and ensure domestic availability when needed.
• Major statements on the antimicrobial resistance “silent pandemic” at the G7, by the Health and Finance ministers
  The G7 met in Oxford. On that occasion, communiques were released by both the Health and Finance Ministers: a general communique that includes multiple comments on AMR, and a statement supporting collaboration on trials for therapeutics and vaccines. The Finance Ministers have also released a communique in which they tackle the need to address AMR as well as pandemic preparedness.
• The One Health European Joint Programme (OHEJP)
  In line with the “Prevent-Detect-Respond” concept, the main focus of the new One Health European Joint Programme (OHEJP) is to reinforce collaboration between institutes by enhancing transdisciplinary cooperation and integration of activities by means of dedicated Joint Research Projects, Joint Integrative Project and through education and training in the fields of Food-borne Zoonoses, Antimicrobial Resistance and Emerging Threats.

BIOTECH CORNER

• Basilea awarded additional USD 4.3 million by BARDA to support phase 3 development of ceftobiprole
• CARB-X funds novel antibiotics against ESKAPE pathogens
• Johnson & Johnson Launches Network of Global Health Discovery Centers that Aim to Speed Up Science and Tackle Pandemic Threats
• bioMérieux and Specific Diagnostics announce a co-exclusive distribution agreement for the SPECIFIC REVEAL® Rapid AST system in Europe
• Qpex Biopharma Initiates Phase 1 Study of QPX9003 Targeting Antibiotic-Resistant Pathogens

UPCOMING EVENTS AND CONFERENCES
2nd SEMESTER 2021 AND 2022

• International Masterclass AMR 2021, September 23, 2021, Amsterdam
• Host-Pathogen relations conference, Faculté de Médecine Paris-Saclay, Amphi A, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, 18 octobre 2021, 9h-17h
• ICADAA 2022: International Conference on Antimicrobial Drugs and Antimicrobial Agents, November 01-02, 2022 in San Francisco, United States

• Do you wish to submit a news item, a job offer or a scientific publication, or join our online directory of the scientists and key players in the fight against antimicrobial resistance in France? Write to us at: ppr-antibioresistance.i3m@inserm.fr

Director of publication: Gilles BLOCH, CEO of Inserm
Assistant Publishing Director: Évelyne JOUVIN-MARCHE
Editorial board: Guia CARRARA, Émilie NOGUEZ, Erica TELFORD
Communication manager: Myriem BELKACEM
Achievement: mlcom.fr