Dear All: On 7-9 Mar 2018, the Transatlantic Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance (TATFAR) will meet in Atlanta, GA to discuss:
- Improving antibiotic use in humans and animals,
- Preventing infections and their spread, and
- Strengthening the drug pipeline.
The opening session (8.30-10.00a EST on 7 Mar) will be available for viewing via live-streaming.
What is TATFAR? Created in 2009, TATFAR comprises AMR-focused government-level experts from Canada, the European Union (EU), Norway, and the United States. CDC maintains the secretariat for the group. TATFAR is currently working on implementation of a set of policy recommendations that span antibiotic use (human & veterinary), infection prevention, and strategies for improving the pipeline of new therapeutic options.
There’s no public agenda for the full meeting, but I infer that the focus is on reviewing progress to date and the need for any updates to TATFAR’s current policy recommendations. It’s great to see our government partners maintaining steady effort on the important problem of antimicrobial-resistant infections!
Why does a meeting of TATFAR matter? As a lot of the needed change requires government-level action, having a knowledgeable and engaged government-based effort is critical for any progress. No, we don’t yet have the drugs we need — but we do have a lot of push incentives, a growing pipeline of both traditional and non-traditional products, and a supportive regulatory environment. No, we don’t yet have pull incentives — but the recent DRIVE-AB reports plus the prior work of the UK AMR Review and the Duke-Margolis project on incentives are driving substantive conversations on both sides of the Atlantic.
In short, the very existence of this group is one of many positive signs in this space. I hope you can make time to dial-in to get a feel for what our government-based colleagues are doing. My own view is that the overall trajectory gives hope that we may yet have the tools needed for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren.
Many thanks to all who engaged with making this happen! All best wishes, –jr
John H. Rex, MD | Chief Medical Officer, F2G Ltd. | 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:
- 28 Feb 2018 (Brussels): Deadline for responses to IMI2 Call 13 (Topic 3) on AMR diagnostics
- 2 Mar 2016 (Berlin): BEAM-sponsored 1-day “Big Drugs for Bad Bugs” conference
- 11-16 Mar 2018 (Ventura Beach): Gordon Research Conference on Antibacterial Discovery
- 12-13 Mar 2018 (London): BSAC’s Spring Conference
- 19 Mar 2018 (Washington: Duke-Margolis & FDA event: “Utilizing Innovative Statistical Methods and Trial Designs in Rare Disease Settings”
- 27-29 Mar 2018 (Cardiff, UK): BSAC-sponsored 3-day residential Workshop on Susceptibility Testing
- 16 Apr 2018 (Washington): Duke-Margolis & FDA event: “Evaluating Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria in Clinical Trials”
- 21-24 Apr 2018 (Madrid): ECCMID
- [NEW] 4-7 Jun 2018 (Boston): BIO (multiple AMR-focused sessions are expected)
- 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
- [Don’t miss this one] 4-7 Sep 2018 ESCMID-ASM Conference (#3) on Drug Development for AMR (Lisbon, Portugal) (initial flyer)
- 6-14 Oct 2018 International Course on Antibiotics and Resistance (ICARe, Les Pensières, Annecy, France)
