BEAM Alliance calls for support of SMEs innovation in field of antimicrobial resistance

A position paper released by the BEAM Alliance is calling for worldwide stakeholders to support small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)-driven innovation into reviving the product pipeline to fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Following the report of British economist Lord Jim O'Neill, there has been a drive by policymakers, funding bodies and national governments, which has seen them set up a series of new initiatives to accelerate drug development by supporting research and development (R&D) in the AMR field. Through its position paper, the BEAM Alliance is acknowledging its support of these initiatives as well highlighting the important role of SMEs within this field.

Listing 10 guidelines, the position paper highlights how antibacterial R&D could be revived and proposes specific support for SME-driven innovation in the AMR field.

1. Adequately-shaped incentive mechanisms that ultimately rewards R&D evidence.
2. Health Technology Assessment recognising the true value of SME innovation.
3. Dedicated regulatory pathways to support the specific needs of AMR projects and act as pre-qualification criteria to some PUSH/PULL incentive mechanisms.
4. PUSH incentives and funding mechanisms that are directed to SMEs, calibrated and accessible for SMEs in practice.
5. Calibrated Market Entry Rewards (MER) to ensure continuous and sustainable innovation from academics to biotech companies and to large pharma players.
6. R&D prizes and phase entry rewards as effective PULL mechanisms for SMEs to incentivise the most underserved indications in AMR.
7. Targeted tax incentives specifically addressing SMEs to incentivise private investments into AMR-focused companies and/or avoid de-prioritization.
8. Going beyond to exploit all possibilities for AMR from SMEs.
9. Support education to strengthen attractiveness of the field for R&D professionals/scientists.
10. Long-term thinking and wisely usage of AMR innovations combined with appropriate diagnostics development.

“Existing SMEs in the AMR field are true pioneers! Despite a much-underserved ecosystem to fund and perform R&D, they fight to make the difference for millions of patients and come up with very innovative approaches - both antibacterial and non-antibacterial (prevention, anti-virulence, anti-biofilm, phages, microbiome protection). They carry the hope for the coming decades and it is of upmost importance that policymakers and countries involved in the fight against AMR make sure their policies are laser focused on SMEs need and none is left behind until the ecosystem is properly revived,” stated Marie Petit, coordinator of the BEAM alliance.

“Due to their versatile properties, bacteria are evolving resistance faster than policymakers are implementing action,” added Marc Gitzinger, CEO of BioVersys AG, Switzerland, vice-president of the BEAM Alliance. “It is of enormous importance to ultimately revive R&D in AMR by developing compelling surveillance data, encouraging out-of-the-box thinking, rewarding R&D evidence and strengthening existing scientific expertise.”

Marc Lemonnier, CEO of Antabio SAS, France, member of the management board of the BEAM Alliance commented: “Globally, some 250 biotech companies are working on new antibacterial strategies. SMEs are the crucial innovation engine in the AMR field. Addressing the specific requirements of SME-driven innovation within current AMR initiatives is key in order to provide patients with effective drugs that can win the fight against AMR.”

The BEAM Alliance (Biopharmaceutical companies from Europe innovating in Anti-Microbial resistance research) represents 40 ‘Biopharmaceutical companies from Europe innovating in AntiMicrobial resistance’ research.