R&D Insight

Weekend reading: HABP-VABP study design; Overview of AMR initiatives

Dear All: Two papers (one with an editorial) that are worth your time. First, we have publication of the long-awaited FNIH (Foundations for the NIH) paper on trial designs for studies of HABP-VABP (Hospital-Associated Bacterial Pneumonia and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia). The paper also comes with an editorial: Talbot, G. H., A. Das, S. Cush, A. Dane, M.

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BARDA’s DRIVe is looking for you! Can you help them run a venture fund?

Dear All: I’ve written before about BARDA’s DRIVe initiative (Division of Research Innovation and Ventures, launched June 2018) that seeks to develop countermeasures for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, as well as for pandemic influenza and emerging infectious diseases.  As a core part of this work, DRIVe Ventures seeks to link innovators and investors through creation of a VC-like

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Updated EMA antibacterial guidance: Draft released for public consultation

Dear All: Dated 19 Dec 2018 and marked as released for public consultation on 14 Jan 2019, EMA has posted an extensively updated and consolidated version of their previously separate Guideline (CPMP/EWP/558/95 Rev.2) and Addendum (EMA/CHMP/351889/2013) documents into a single draft antibacterial guidance document. I have not yet had a chance to study in detail and will

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The UK commits to a delinked antibiotic purchase model!

Dear All: Wow! It’s happened! As reported this morning in The Times and The Guardian among others, the UK will announce at Davos that it is committing to a 20-year vision and initial 5-year plan to combat AMR. The plan includes actions to reduce infection rates, to reduce antibiotic use, and most importantly for this audience to find a path to delinked

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NDM-1 in the Arctic / IACG seeks your views!

Dear All: Apologies for inundating with updates … the last few days have been very data rich! In case you missed it, McCann et al. (Env Internat, “Understanding drivers of antibiotic resistance genes in High Arctic soil ecosystems,” link) have found NDM-1, one of our more famous recent resistance genes, in the Arctic. As they state in their abstract, “The

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WHO wants to hear from all pre-clinical antibiotic developers (18 Mar 2019 deadline)

​Dear All: Are you doing preclinical antibiotic R&D? If so, WHO wants to hear from you! As you know, WHO has published these two analyses of priority pathogens and antibacterial agents currently in Phases 1-3: Prioritization of pathogens to guide discovery, research and development of new antibiotics for drug resistant bacterial infections, including tuberculosis (2017, link) 

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Draft EMA antibacterial guidance: Analysis

Dear All: I wrote previously that EMA posted an extensively updated and consolidated version of their previously separate Guideline (CPMP/EWP/558/95 Rev.2) and Addendum (EMA/CHMP/351889/2013) documents into a single draft antibacterial guidance document. I’ve now had a chance to read it in detail and thought I would share my thoughts as a way to provoke discussion. As a reminder, the

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FDA workshop: Clinical trial designs for agents for non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection on 8 Apr 2019

 REDear All: I just heard to today that FDA is holding a public workshop entitled “Development of Antibacterial Drugs for the Treatment of Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Disease” on 8 April 2019 from 8.30a-5.00p. Register here. Per their website, “the purpose of the public workshop is to discuss the clinical trial design considerations, including endpoints, related to the

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