AMR& Diagnostic Frontiers

AMR& Diagnostic Frontiers: Developing and Increasing Access to Innovative Diagnostics in and for LMICs.

The new Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) study in the Lancet revealed that Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) has become a leading cause of death worldwide, with more than 1.2 million people dying as a direct result of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in 2019.

Lack of access to diagnostics and antibiotics have been drivers of high death rates from AMR in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Though, the value of rapid diagnostic tests to healthcare and society has never been higher than at present, as their deployment in the detection of Covid-19 has thrust them into public consciousness and into everyday use.

Innovation projects focusing on developing diagnostics that can be integrated into existing health systems are crucial. For many years, innovators have been developing and refining the next generation of rapid AMR diagnostics. To achieve commercial success and build a sustainable business, most diagnostic developers focus on tests that suit high-income countries (HICs), although not an issue unique to novel AMR diagnostics. At the end of 2021, The Lancet Commission on Diagnostics found that a staggering 47% of the global population have little to no access to diagnostics.

One positive impact during the Covid-19 crisis has been increased focus on local production of diagnostics, for example through tech transfer to local manufacturers. There has also been discussion about boosting low- and middle-income country (LMIC) innovation capacity so that MedTech products can be designed for and tested in LMICs. How can we use the global experience from Covid-19, for AMR diagnostics?

There is both a need to increase access to appropriately-designed diagnostics developed in HICs for LMICs and to locally develop more products in and for LMICs.

Register now for our virtual event, to hear success stories of the development, manufacture and adaptation of diagnostics in LMICs, and to hear companies pitch their diagnostics to a panel of global health representatives.

Agenda

Welcome and Keynote – 14:00-14:15 GMT

How can we create a new dynamic, so that AMR diagnostics are developed and accessible in LMICs? Key highlights and recommendations from the Lancet Commission published in Oct 2021.

Chair: Bill Rodriguez, CEO, FIND

Keynote: Dr Patricia J. Garcia, Professor, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru (UPCH) and Commissioner, Lancet Commission on Diagnostics

LMIC Diagnostic success stories – 14:15-14:45 GMT

Diagnostic developers will share their success stories of the development, adaptation and rollout of diagnostics in an LMIC setting, including barriers and recommendations for other developers – and their perspectives on how, looking ahead, LMICs can build homegrown innovation capacity to deliver accessible, rapid diagnostics.

Chair: Bill Rodriguez, CEO, FIND

- Prof. Hassan Sefrioui, Director & Member of the Executive Board at Moroccan foundation for Advanced Science, Innovation and Research (MAScIR)

- Dr Shirshendu Mukherjee, Mission Director, Grand Challenges India (DBT-BIRAC-BMGF-Wellcome Trust) and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), India

- Cheikh Tidiane Diagne, Head of Operations, diaTROPIX, of the Institut Pasteur de Dakar (Senegal)

Technology Pipeline: product feedback and market outlook – 14:50-15:45 GMT

Companies developing AMR diagnostics for an LMIC setting will present their products to a panel of global health representatives. The panel will share customer-driven feedback on their pitch presentations - before opening up for a Q&A session with all participants.

Chair: Erin Duffy, Chief of Research and Development, CARB-X

Pitches:

Mridu Sinha, Co-Founder and CEO, MelioLabs

Tara de Boer, Founder and CEO, BioAmp Diagnostics

Sean McHughes, Senior Scientist, DCN Diagnostics

Panel:

- Alexandre Costa, Health Programme Team, UNICEF

- David Ripin, EVP Infectious Diseases & Chief Science Officer, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)

- Jenny Molloy, University of Cambridge and Working Group on Diagnostics and Local Production (Chair)

- Jorge Matheu, Team Lead and AMR Laboratory Expert (WHO)

- Katerina Galluzzo, Strategy Manager, Unitaid

- Otridah Kapona, Infectious Diseases Specialist, Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI) / AMR Nat. Focal Point & Coordinator, Zambia

Closing Remarks - 15:45-16:00 GMT

Join the event here: https://nesta.zoom.us/s/92967109344?pwd=dFBncjZhdlNrRDRreHJTSWw5YVRTQT09