Dear All,
I’ve previously written about the AMR Action Fund (9 Jul 2020 newsletter), a $1b fund created by 20+ global pharma with the intertwined goals of (i) bringing 2-4 new antibacterial antibiotics through Phase 2-3 and approval by 2030 and (ii) creating market conditions that enable sustainable investment in antibiotics. While we know that the Action Fund alone will not fix the antibiotic ecosystem (see this 3 Aug 2020 newsletter), it’s a fabulous new Push incentive (newsletter on Push vs. Pull) that will have major impact.
The Fund is now soliciting applications to serve on its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB has the responsibility of providing rigorous, independent technical assessments of potential investments. Critically, the Fund will only support products that the SAB judges to meet the Fund’s goals for factors such as pathogen coverage, novelty/clinical differentiation, and so forth.
In short, this SAB is an important opportunity to shape antibiotic development for years to come. SAB members are sought with expertise in public health, clinical care, and across all stages of R&D (preclinical, CMC, regulatory, and clinical development).
Do you have the needed skills? For more details and to apply, go to https://web.archive.org/web/20210127222640/https://amractionfund.com/resource/call-for-members-of-the-amr-action-funds-scientific-advisory-board/. The deadline for applications is 13 Dec 2020!
All best wishes, –jr
John H. Rex, MD | Chief Medical Officer, F2G Ltd. | Operating Partner, Advent Life Sciences. Follow me on Twitter: @JohnRex_NewAbx. See past newsletters and subscribe for the future: https://amr.solutions/blog/. All opinions are my own.
Current funding opportunities (most current list is here):
- The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Applicant Assistance Program (AAP) opens on October 22, 2020. This program provides no cost support for companies planning to apply for a Phase II, Fast Track, or Direct-to-Phase II SBIR or STTR Award. Go here for details.
- Novo REPAIR Impact Fund closed its most recent round on 31 Jul 2020. Go here for current details.
- CARB-X recently announced that their existing resources will be reserved to fund their existing portfolio (75 total awards, and counting and they conclude contracting on prior rounds), including future options on those awards. New rounds from CARB-X will occur only after new funding is obtained in 2021.
- The Global AMR R&D Hub’s dynamic dashboard (link) summarizes funders and projects by geography, stage, and more.
- It’s not a funder, but AiCuris’ AiCubator offers incubator support to very early stage projects. Read more about it here.
- Finally, you might also be interested in the most current lists of R&D incentives (link) and priority pathogens (link)
Upcoming meetings of interest to the AMR community (most current list is here):
- 2 Dec 2020 (online, 3 sessions spanning 5am-5.15p GMT): Global AMR Hub-sponsored conference entitled “Translating AMR R&D mapping into policy and action.” Go here for the full program
- 5-7.15a GMT: “Identifying research gaps to address antimicrobial resistance relevant to the Asia Pacific Region”
- Noon-2.15p GMT: Filling AMR R&D gaps in animal health at country, regional and global level
- 3p-5.15p GMT: Working together to fill AMR R&D gaps – collaboration and partnerships
- 3 Dec 2020 (online, 9-10:30a CET; 5-6:30p KST): Multi-sponsored webinar entitled “Evidence to Action – Advancing the Antimicrobial Resistance agenda during a pandemic.” Go here to register. Co-hosted by the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS), and the Embassy of Denmark in Korea, this webinar includes Dame Sally, Hanan Balkhy (WHO), and the Minster of Health from both South Korea and Denmark!
- 26-28 Jan 2021 (online, runs ~7.30a-5.00p Central each day): 4th Annual Texas Medical Center Antimicrobial Resistance and Stewardship Conference. Sponsored by McGovern Medical School, ARLG, and the Gulf Coast Consortia, the agenda includes both poster sessions and keynotes. The call for abstracts closes 18 Dec 2020. Go here for more details.
- 10-12 Mar 2021 (Stellenbosch, South Africa): The University of Cape Town’s H3D Research Centre will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a symposium covering the Centre’s research on Malaria, TB, Neglected Tropical Diseases, and AMR. Go here to register; abstract deadline is 15 Nov 2020.
- 9-12 Jul 2021 (Vienna): Annual ECCMID meeting (#31)
- 18-21 May 2021 (Albuquerque, New Mexico): Biannual meeting of the MSGERC (Mycoses Study Group Education and Research Consortium). Save-the-date announcement is here, details to follow.
- 20-24 June 2021 (Toronto): International Symposium on Pneumococci and Pneumococcal Diseases (ISPPD-12). Go here for details.
- 3-7 Jun 2021 (Anaheim), ASM Microbe 2021. Go here for details.
- 27 Jun-2 Jul 2021 (Ventura, CA): Gordon Research Conference entitled “Antimicrobial Peptides”. Go here for details, go here for the linked 26-27 Jun Gordon Research Seminar that precedes it.
- 5-21 Aug 2021 (Marine Biology Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA): Residential course entitled “Molecular Mycology: Current Approaches to Fungal Pathogenesis.” This 2-week intensive training program has run annually for many years and gets outstanding reviews. Go here for details.
- 8-11 Oct 2021 (Aberdeen, Scotland): 10th Trends in Medical Mycology. Go here for details.
- 16-24 Oct 2021 (Annecy, France): Interdisciplinary Course on Antibiotics and Resistance (ICARe). This is a soup-to-nuts residential course on antibiotics, antibiotic resistance, and antibiotic R&D. The course is very intense, very detailed, and gets rave reviews. Registration is here and is limited to 40 students. Bonus feature: For obvious reasons, the course didn’t happen in 2020! But as a celebration of the course’s 5th year, a webinar version was held on 29 Oct 2020: go here to stream it.
- 6-11 Mar 2022 (Il Ciocco, Tuscany): Gordon Research Conference entitled “New Antibacterial Discovery and Development”. Go here for details, go here for the linked 5-6 Mar Gordon Research Seminar that precedes it.