Dear All,
Last week I went to New York City to see one of the opening performances of Lifeline, The Musical, the world’s first musical telling the story of penicillin, Sir Alexander Fleming, and the rise of antibiotic resistance! This was my first time seeing the production in its entirety and it did not disappoint. The timing of this 5-week run of the show aligns with the upcoming 26 Sep 2024 United Nations General Assembly HLM (High-Level Meeting) on AMR, hopefully generating enhanced awareness of AMR.
The plot follows two Scottish doctors separated by a century who are both fighting for the same thing – to help humanity by promoting the responsible use of antibiotics. We see the discovery of penicillin, the exhausted modern doctor trying to do right by her patients, the frustration of being unable to do more for the sick, and the consequences of the use and misuse of antibiotics, all in the form of song.
There has been lots of talk about how to communicate these big concepts to the general public and a musical is an innovative and exciting approach. Romance! Humor! Catchy songs! Dancing! But there’s more:
- The staging includes a Greek chorus of real medical professionals. Over 300 auditioned to be part of the show, and each week there is a different collection of them on stage.
- It was clear they were wearing their real scrubs and IDs!
- There were moments spread throughout the show where they shared patient stories that were clearly based on real life.
- In short, they were showcased as the real heroes of the production.
- Scientific terms in musical form were delightful to hear. I never thought I’d see a dance that involved petri dishes or The Lancet being used as a theater prop!
- There were lots of direct quotes from Sir Alexander Fleming and even a few recordings. Very cool!
- However, the story doesn’t end when the curtain closes! The ending of the show was an abrupt and powerful destruction of the theatrical fourth wall in the form of a Q&A session with two actors and one of the medical professionals from the show.
- This is real life and the audience is part of it.
- The actors shared their experience of learning about AMR when they joined the production and it was delightful to see their enthusiasm to educate others go beyond the show proper.
- And I’ll note that you you now need to go see it again even if you’ve seen it before: per the official website, “the show underwent significant re-development in 2023 to incorporate numerous modern day patient stories that the producers had collected from around the world.”
To provide a further glimpse of the passion and energy behind the show, I’ve created a 12-minute video summary that includes a conversation with Robin Hiley (the composer/lyricist), some excerpts from the show, and a post-show commentary:
- The music is available on Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon Music.
- If you only have time for one song, listen to “I’ve Done All That I Can“
- Tickets are available online and the show is running until 28 September 2024!
- The Lifeline Playbill is virtual and can be accessed by anyone, not just attendees, and there’s a great forward written by Dame Sally Davies.
- There is also a newsclip on the show that was recorded by CBS!
Wow! Please go and see this show if you can and take a non-science friend with you … it isn’t just for AMR geeks! Be sure to take a supply of tissues with you … this is an intensely emotional performance (anyone who is struggling with medical difficulties should be warned that this show could be triggering).
Many thanks to the creative team, the cast, and the fabulous Scottish musicians who put their hearts and souls into bringing this amazing show to life!
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.
John’s Top Recurring Meetings
Virtual meetings are easy to attend, but regular attendance at annual in-person events is the key to building your network and gaining deeper insight. My personal favorites for such in-person meetings are below. Of particular value for developers are the AMR Conference and the ASM-ESCMID conference. Hope to see you there!
- 17-20 Sep 2024 (Porto, Portugal): ASM/ESCMID Joint Conference on Drug Development to Meet the Challenge of Antimicrobial Resistance. Go here to register!
- 16-20 Oct 2024 (Los Angeles, USA): IDWeek 2024, the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Go here for details.
- 25-26 February 2025 (Basel, Switzerland): The 9th AMR Conference 2025. Go here to register!
- 11-15 April 2025 (Vienna, Austria): ESCMID Global 2025, the annual meeting of the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Go here for details.
Upcoming meetings of interest to the AMR community:
- [HAS HAPPENED; NOTEWORTHY VIDEO]: 22-23 May 2024 meeting of PACCARB. If you were intrigued by the 23 July 2024 newsletter entitled “Conflict-Borne XDR Superbugs”, you should note that PACCARB devoted its 23 May 2024 morning session to the topic of combat-related drug resistance. See page 3 of the agenda and then follow along in the video on YouTube.
- [NEW – DON’T MISS IT] 28 Aug to 28 Sep (Off-Broadway, New York City, the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre): Lifeline, the musical story of Sir Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin. Previously entitled The Mould that Changed the World, the musical is a two-time Edinburgh Festival Fringe sell-out (2018 and 2022) and has toured to London, Glasgow, Atlanta and Washington DC (2022). This 5-week run in NYC is timed to be in support of the High-Level Meeting on AMR (HLM AMR) during UNGA 2024. Go here for a blurb and here to book your tickets!
- [NEW – DON’T MISS IT] 9 Sep 2024 (9a-4p ET, in-person or virtual): FDA have announced an AMDAC (Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee) meeting that will discuss “new drug application 213972, for oral sulopenem etzadroxil/probenecid tablets consisting of 500 milligrams (mg) sulopenem etzadroxil and 500 mg probenecid, submitted by Iterum Therapeutics US Ltd., for the proposed indication of treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections caused by designated susceptible bacteria in adult women 18 years of age and older.” Try to make time to listen to this … every FDA Advisory Committee is a master class in regulatory thinking! Go here for the Federal Register notice and here for the meeting’s webpage: materials are typically posted 2 days before the meeting.
- 17-20 Sep 2024 (Porto, Portugal): ASM/ESCMID Joint Conference on Drug Development to Meet the Challenge of Antimicrobial Resistance. See Recurring Meetings list, above.
- [NEW] 19 Sep 2024 (virtual, 10-11.30a CEST / 18.00–19.30 AEST): GARDP-sponsored webinar entitled “An introduction to antibiotic research and development (R&D).” Go here to register.
- 24 Sep 2024 (in person, 7.45-10a ET, New York City): Breakfast meeting entitled “Advancing Together: Securing the Global AMR Agenda by Harnessing the Collective Strength of Multi-Sector Partnerships”, sponsored by bioMèrieux, The Wellcome Trust, The American Society of Microbiology, and the Republic of Malawi. This occurs two days before the 26 Sep 2024 UNGA HLM on AMR. Go here to register.
- 16-20 Oct 2024 (Los Angeles, USA): IDWeek 2024, the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. See Recurring Meetings list, above.
- 16 Oct 2024 (virtual and in-person, 10a-1p ET): FDA’s Rare Disease Innovation Hub, in collaboration with the Reagan-Udall Foundation will discuss how the recently announced Rare Disease Innovation Hub can engage and prioritize its work. This may seem somewhat remote, but could this have implications for rare infections? Hmm! Attend if you can! Go here for the meeting’s webpage.
- 19-27 Oct 2024 (Annecy, France, residential in-person program): ICARe (Interdisciplinary Course on Antibiotics and Resistance). Now in its 8th year, Patrice Courvalin directs the program with the support of an all-star scientific committee and faculty. The resulting soup-to-nuts training covers all aspects of antimicrobials, is very intense, and routinely gets rave reviews! Seating is limited, so mark your calendars now if you are interested. Applications open in March 2024 — go here for more details.
- 4-5 Dec 2024 (in person, Washington, DC): “Fungal Dx 2024: Fungal Diagnostics in Clinical Practice” is a 2-day in-person workshop organized by ISHAM‘s Fungal Diagnostics Working Group. The program and registration links are available at https://fungaldx.com/; the agenda is comprehensive and features an all-star global list of speakers.
- 11-15 April 2025 (Vienna, Austria): ESCMID Global 2025, the annual meeting of the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. See Recurring Meetings list, above.