International AMR Action! 21 Sep Wellcome Trust-UNGA event / 12-13 Oct Call to Action (Berlin)

Dear All: 

The international conversation continues apace following the recent DRIVE-AB meeting on antibiotic incentives. There are two further important meetings coming up that you may wish to know about.

First, Wellcome Trust is co-hosting a side-event with the UN Foundation during the UN General Assembly on 21 Sep (yes, this week!). The side event is from 8a-10a in New York City. Here is the registration link should you be in NYC on Thursday and able to attend. Panel discussions will focus on the challenges of developing multi-sectoral national action plans as well as covering progress on support mechanisms for antibiotic discovery. The keynote speakers look wonderful, including opening comments from the WHO’s DG:

• Session title: One Year On: Progress, Challenges, Opportunities, and New Ways of Working to Tackle Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
• Keynote: Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; Director-General, World Health Organization; Co-Chair, UN Interagency Coordination Group on AMR
• Keynote: Professor Dame Sally Davies; Chief Medical Officer, United Kingdom; Co-Convener, UN Interagency Coordination Group
• Keynote: Ms. Maria Helena Semedo; Deputy Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• Closing: Honorable Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi; Minister of Health, South Africa

Second, Wellcome Trust is also organizing an AMR Call to Action Conference 12-13 October in Berlin. The event is “… an opportunity for national governments and multilateral institutions to come together with the civil society, private and philanthropic sectors to focus on the most critical gaps in tackling the development and spread of drug-resistant infections, and to commit to concerted and tangible actions.” If you think you might be interested in attending (it is invitation-only but I am told there is still some scope to add attendees), please contact Wellcome Trust by email at amrcalltoaction@wellcome.ac.uk.

It is fabulous to see these conversations at the political level … I know that we don’t yet have all the tools we need to ensure a vibrant antibiotic pipeline, but these conversations are the necessary prelude!

All best wishes, –jr

John H. Rex, MD | Chief Medical Officer, F2G Ltd. | Chief Strategy Officer, CARB-X | Expert-in-Residence, Wellcome Trust. Follow me on Twitter: @JohnRex_NewAbx. See past newsletters and subscribe for the future: https://13.43.35.2/blog/

Upcoming meetings of interest to the AMR community:

• 1 Oct 2017 (London): BSAC: AMR Market Lounges. Networking day.
• 4-8 Oct 2017 (San Diego): IDWeek
• 10 Oct 2017 (Hanoi): UK-Vietnam Newton Fund Pre-Call Workshop on Partnership for Infectious Disease Research 2017
• [NEW] 12-13 Oct 2017 (Berlin): AMR Call to Action Conference
• [NEW] 15 Oct 2017: Global Handwashing Day!
• 29 Oct-1 Nov 2017 (Santa Fe): Keystone Symposium – Antimicrobials and Resistance: Opportunities and Challenges
• 2 Nov 2017 (London): BSAC: AMR Market Lounges. Networking day.
• 11-19 Nov 2017 (Annecy, France): International Course on Antibiotics and Resistance (ICARE)
• [NEW] 13-19 Nov 2017 WHO’s World Antibiotic Awareness Week
• 20 Nov 2017 (week of, China): UK-China Newton Fund Workshop: Antimicrobial Resistance Centre Partnerships Initiative.
• 20 Nov 2017 (London): Early Career Researcher Workshop on Diagnostics for Antimicrobial Resistance.
• 24-27 Nov 2017 (Taipei): 30th International Congress of Chemotherapy & Infection (ICC)
• 12-14 Feb 2018 (Baltimore): ASM Biothreats Conference
• 11-16 Mar 2018 (Ventura Beach): Gordon Research Conference on Antibacterial Discovery
• 21-24 Apr 2018 (Madrid): ECCMID
• 7-11 Jun 2018 (Atlanta): ASM Microbe
• 22-27 Jul 2018 (Bryant University, Smithfield, RI): Gordon Research Conference on Drug Resistance for Cancer, Infectious Disease and Agriculture