ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE SOLUTIONS
WITH DR. JOHN H. REX
Latest Newsletters
Dear All,I've written before about the Vivli data challenge (2024 edition, 2025 edition) and am pleased to be able to say that there is a 2026 challenge! Here are the links you need:The data challenge overview's home webpageThe 20 Oct 2024 newsletter co-authored with Patricia Bradford that gives insights on how to approach the challenge In brief, the 2026 edition now has 13 surveillance datasets (see list below my signature) and the overall goal remains promotion of utilization of the surveillance data in the Vivli AMR Register to drive advances in the AMR field. The sponsors this year are the Global AMR R&D Hub, Pfizer Inc, Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, and an NIH award. The prizes are substantial and include a total of 6 named awards:Grand Prize AwardsAMR Global Leadership Award (Non-student)$10,000 prize$5,000 travel grant to attend an infectious disease conference in 2026 (if abstract is accepted)AMR Visionary Award (Non-student)$10,000 prize$5,000 travel grant to attend an infectious disease conference in 2026 (if abstract is accepted)Student AwardsStudent Innovation Award$5,000 travel grant (no cash prize)Student Impact Award$5,000 travel grant (no cash prize)Additional AwardsImpact Award (Non-student)$5,000 prize$2,000 travel grant[NEW THIS YEAR] Global AMR R&D Hub Cross-Domain Award$5,000 travel grant (no cash prize)Open to students and...
Dear All (and with thanks...
Latest Government Action
Dear All,I'm delighted to be able to say that PASTEUR 2026 was (re)introduced into the US Congress this week! It's an improved version relative to the version introduced into the prior 3 sessions of the US Congress (see below for discussion of that), so I think we can safely call it "PASTEUR v2.0" as well as by its more official name of PASTEUR 2026. Here are the links you need:PASTEUR 2026 (v2.0)On congress.gov, it is "H.R.7352 - To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a program to develop innovative antimicrobial drugs targeting the most challenging pathogens and most threatening infections, and for other purposes."But, you can't (yet) download from congress.gov ... instead, use this text (.pdf) of the newly introduced versionA section-by-section analysis of the ActPress releases and commentaryOne-pager about the newly introduced version of PASTEURPress release by the five house representatives who are sponsoring the billAnd excitingly, six additional representatives have joined the bill as of today (to follow this, look at the "Date Cosponsored" column on that webpage)Press releases from IDSA and BIOBackground and context on the ideas behind PASTEUR as well as its potential value16 June 2021 newsletter ("PASTEUR Act re-introduced and levels up antimicrobial economics for strong innovation!"). This newsletter gives a...
Dear All,There are more details...
Dear All (and with thanks...
Dear All,Referring back to the...
Dear All,Attention phage developers --...
Dear All,D-Day and the momentous Normandy...
Dear All,If you represent a...
R&D Insight
Dear All (long note alert...
Dear All: Alan Carr (acarr@needhamco.com,...
“The world is changed by...
Dear All, Committing serial email...
Dear All (wonkish note alert...
Dear All (addendum: see also...
Dear All: Two things today....
Dear All,Just out is a...
Can you help?
Dear All,I have just learned that Lifeline, the musical formerly known as The Mould that Changed the World, is seeking scientists, medics, and healthcare professionals to be part of the cast for a portion of a planned 5-week off-Broadway run of the show around the time of the High-Level Meeting (HLM) on AMR at UNGA 2024 in New York City...
Dear All, Heads up! Having...
Note: Be sure to take...
Update on 11 October 2023: The...
Dear All,Along with more than...
Dear All (and with thanks to...
Dear All, Two items for...
Dear All, Three things today......
Dear All, Greetings from ECCMID...
Dear All,A key theme of...
Dear All,Following hard on the...
Dear All, A short one...
Dear All, We are swimming...
Antimicrobial resistance poses a catastrophic threat. If we don’t act now, any one of us could go into hospital in 20 years for minor surgery and die because of an ordinary infection that can’t be treated by antibiotics. And routine operations like hip replacements or organ transplants could be deadly because of the risk of infection.
AMR Fireside Chats
1/19 videos
1
Episode 18 w/Robin Hiley- Fireside Chat
19:48
2
Episode 17 w/ Ella Balasa and Rob Purdie of WHO Task Force of AMR Survivors - AMR Fireside Chat
38:24
3
Episode 16 w/ Ramanan Laxminarayan, PhD - AMR Fireside Chat
32:59
4
Episode 15 w/ Mark Albrecht, PhD - AMR Fireside Chat
43:55
5
Episode 14 w/ Lynn Silver - AMR Fireside Chat
56:23
6
Episode 13 w/ Kevin Outterson - AMR Fireside Chat
30:01
7
Episode 12 w/ Tina Joshi, PhD - AMR Fireside Chat
34:22
8
Episode 11 w/ Martin Heidecker - AMR Fireside Chat
32:31
9
Episode 10 w/ Anna Govett - AMR Fireside Chat
14:54
10
Episode 9 w/ Fatema Rafiqi, PhD - AMR Fireside Chat
34:10
11
Episode 8 w/ Ghada Zoubiane, PhD - AMR Fireside Chat
35:04
12
Episode 7 w/ Trevor Lithgow, PhD - AMR Fireside Chat
35:41
13
AMR Snapshots: Episode 2 - John Rex (Editor-In-Chief, AMR.Solutions)
26:25
14
Episode 6 w/ Maryn McKenna - AMR Fireside Chat
45:50
15
Episode 5 w/ Christine Årdal - AMR Fireside Chat
43:44
16
Episode 4 w/ Peter Beyer - AMR Fireside Chat
39:21
17
Episode 3 w/ Kevin Outterson - AMR Fireside Chat
11:45
18
Episode 2 w/ Henry Skinner, PhD - AMR Fireside Chat
15:44
19
Episode 1 w/ Kevin Outterson - AMR Fireside Chat
52:56
New pipeline analysis: Cancer projects were funded 17x more than antibacterials during 2011-2020
Dear All (wonkish alert: coffee up, settle in, and read the reports!), As you will recall, WHO’s most current pipeline review found that globally we ...
Read More →
FDA: Early endpoints and late endpoints suggest a path to global regulatory convergence (Bart et al.)
Dear All (wonkish note alert … top-up your coffee and settle in!), Today we have a tour of a recent paper in Clinical Infectious Diseases ...
Read More →
The 6 meanings of “Lack of Access” (UNSLAP)
Dear All, We often talk about the problem of lack of access to new antibiotics. In late 2021, for example, we explored data showing that multi-year ...
Read More →
Lancet: 10-20-30 targets to address AMR by 2030
Dear All (wonkish alert … but definitely worth the effort! Refill your coffee!),Ramanan Laxminarayan and about 40 colleagues from around the world have just published in ...
Read More →
Two new oral drugs for gonorrhea!
Dear All (wonkish … but worth it … get ready to follow the links!), Greetings in the new year! As a marvelous way to end ...
Read More →
Melinta goes bankrupt / Never let a good crisis go to waste
Dear All (long-ish, wonk-ish note alert … lots of details to absorb): This newsletter has a followup here. Sadly, Melinta Therapeutics, Inc. declared bankruptcy just ...
Read More →
Draft EMA antibacterial guidance: Analysis
Dear All: I wrote previously that EMA posted an extensively updated and consolidated version of their previously separate Guideline (CPMP/EWP/558/95 Rev.2) and Addendum (EMA/CHMP/351889/2013) documents into a single draft ...
Read More →
Developing antibiotics for children: There are no easy answers
Aside: If you’ve enjoyed the prior discussions of movies to inspire antibiotic R&D and very apropos given the theme of today’s newsletter, please check out the ...
Read More →
New mechanisms for antibiotic reimbursement in the United States: CMS’s IPPS FY2020 Final Rule
Dear All (and with thanks to Kevin Outterson for substantial help with this newsletter), On August 2, 2019, the US government agency that administrates Medicare & ...
Read More →
Plazomicin EU marketing application is withdrawn: Near zero market value of newly approved antibacterials
Dear All (with thanks to Kevin Outterson for co-authoring this newsletter), Last week’s announcement of the AMR Action Fund was both exciting and sobering: $1b ...
Read More →
FDA Workshop: Animal Models To Support Antibacterial Development (5 Mar 2020, post-meeting notes)
Dear All (detailed and wonkish note alert … lots of thinking out loud … get some coffee and settle in!), I wrote previously (link) about ...
Read More →
FDA and EMA regulatory updates / Fireside chat during the 4th AMR Conference
Dear All (lots and lots of wonkish detail here, be sure your blood caffeine level is adequate!), During the 24-28 Aug 2020 BEAM Alliance-sponsored AMR Conference ...
Read More →
The thoughtless person playing with penicillin treatment is morally responsible for the death of the man who succumbs to infection with the penicillin-resistant organism.
The bipartisan PASTEUR Act is the strongest bill ever written to strengthen antibiotic development and use. It will fix our market failures, expand the pipeline for next generation antibiotics, and save lives. We can’t sit on our hands as this public health crisis arrives – we have to act now.
Summaries
Notes: Newsflash ... BARDA have...
Aside: If you've enjoyed the...
See also This related newsletter:...
Dear All (and with thanks...
Dear All (Wonkish alert! Coffee-up!),Today...