AMR Action Fund Appoints Scientific Advisory Board

Members will play a vital role in evaluating potential investments into clinical-stage companies developing urgently needed antibiotics

BOSTON, Feb. 1, 2022  /PRNewswire/ -- The AMR Action Fund, the world's largest public-private partnership investing in the development of new antibiotics, today named nine appointees to its independent Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).

The SAB will help evaluate the scientific merit, patient benefit, and public health impact of potential investments into clinical-stage companies developing antibacterial treatments that target priority pathogens as identified by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Fund, whose partners include a coalition of leading pharmaceutical companies, the Wellcome Trust, the European Investment Bank, and philanthropic foundations, will invest approximately $1 billion in the coming years across a range of biotech companies to bring two to four new antibiotics to market. The appointment of the advisory board members marks a key step for the Fund as it prepares to make its first investments.  

"The experts on our Scientific Advisory Board bring diverse perspectives and extensive experience in antibiotic development and global health that will bolster our diligence efforts and help prioritize treatments that deliver the greatest benefits to patients," said Henry Skinner, CEO of the AMR Action Fund. "I am thrilled to welcome these esteemed individuals and look forward to working together on identifying solutions to one of the biggest public health threats of our time."  

The Scientific Advisory Board appointees are:

• Donald Anderson, MD: Former Academic Infectious Disease Investigator and Pharmaceutical-Biotech Executive; Current Consultant to the VP Research & Innovation at Michigan State University (based in Austin, Texas)
• Patricia Bradford, Ph.D.: Antimicrobial Development Specialists, LLC (based in New York)
• Erin M. Duffy, Ph.D.: Chief of Research & Development, CARB-X (based in Boston)
• Stephan Harbarth, MD, MS: Professor, Geneva University Hospitals' (HUG) Divisions of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control (based in Geneva)
• Katie Laessig, MD: Senior Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs, Antios Therapeutics (based in Washington, D.C.)
• Norio Ohmagari, MD, Ph.D.: Director, AMR Clinical Reference Center; Director, Disease Control and Prevention Center of the National Center for Global Health and Medicine (based in Tokyo)
• David Paterson, MBBS: Director, The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research (based in Brisbane, Australia)
• Lloyd Payne, D.Phil.: CEO of ArrePath Inc (based in Manchester, England/Princeton, N.J.)
• Valeria Gigante, Ph.D.: Team Lead at the World Health Organization in the AMR Division (based in Geneva)

Antimicrobial resistance kills an estimated 1.27 million people a year, and that number could grow to as many as 10 million people by 2050. The lack of effective antibiotics threatens to undermine modern medicine, from cancer care to organ transplantation to childbirth. There is broad consensus that the world urgently needs new antibiotics, as well as new policies and incentives to encourage investment and innovation. AMR Action Fund's SAB will help the Fund invest in clinical-stage biotechs that are developing novel antimicrobials that are clinically differentiated and have the potential to significantly reduce patient mortality.

"I am delighted that this prestigious group of experts from around the world has joined the AMR Action Fund's Scientific Advisory Board," said John Rex, MD, SAB Chair. "Their deep knowledge and expertise will be essential as the Fund looks to catalyze the type of long-term innovation needed to take on the global threat of AMR."

About the AMR Action Fund 

The AMR Action Fund is the world's largest public-private partnership supporting the development of antibiotics, antifungals, and other antimicrobial treatments. The Fund will invest US$1 billion into clinical-stage biotech companies with the goal of bringing two to four new products to market. The concept of the AMR Action Fund was developed by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations and its member biopharmaceutical companies, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, the European Investment Bank, and the Wellcome Trust. Investors in the AMR Action Fund include: Almirall; Amgen; Bayer; Boehringer Ingelheim; Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation; Chugai; Daiichi-Sankyo; Eisai; Eli Lilly and Company; the European Investment Bank (with the support of the European Commission under Horizon 2020, the 2014-2020 European Union research and innovation program); GlaxoSmithKline; Johnson & Johnson; LEO Pharma; Lundbeck; Menarini; Merck; Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany; Novartis; Novo Nordisk; Novo Nordisk Foundation; Pfizer; Roche; Shionogi; Takeda; Teva; UCB; and the Wellcome Trust.

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