Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/02/news-scan-feb-18-2021
News Scan for Feb 18, 2021
New funds, CEO for antibiotic development fund; Avian flu in Europe
Filed Under:
Antimicrobial Stewardship; Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
Antibiotic development effort notes $140 million in donations, new CEO
The AMR Action Fund announced today the appointment of a new chief executive officer and more than $140 million in investments from the Boehringer Ingleheim Foundation, The European Investment Bank, and the Wellcome Trust.
The investments in the AMR Action Fund, a public-private partnership launched in July 2020 to boost the antibiotic development pipeline, are its first non-pharmaceutical industry investments. The fund is an industry-led initiative developed by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, and includes Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, and Novartis among its backers. The fund plans to invest more than $1 billion in smaller biotech companies with the aim of bringing two to four new antibiotics to market by 2030.
"This fund will provide a lifeline for companies navigating the expensive and technically complex later stages of antibiotic development," Wellcome Trust director Jeremy Farrar, MD, PhD, said in an AMR Action Fund press release. "We are particularly pleased that the fund will place an emphasis on equitable access and responsible stewardship which is crucial to solving this global health challenge."
Taking the helm of the AMR Action Fund will be Henry Skinner, PhD, who brings decades of experience in the biomedical research, pharmaceutical, and venture capital industries.
"I am honored to join the AMR Action Fund and its incredibly important mission," Skinner said in a press release. "Having worked on this issue from many angles throughout my career, I know how badly novel antibiotics are needed, and I also know how many obstacles currently prevent them from being developed and reaching patients."
Feb 18 AMR Action Fund investment press release
Feb 18 AMR Action Fund CEO press release
High-path avian flu outbreaks strike more European farms
European countries reported more highly pathogenic avian flu outbreaks, mostly involving H5N8, but also one involving H5N1 in Scotland, according to the latest notifications from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
In Scotland, the H5N1 virus—different from the Asian genotype—struck a game farm in Fife. The outbreak began on Feb 6, killing 6,030 of 14,030 susceptible birds, mostly pheasants and partridges.
In H5N8 developments, officials reported more outbreaks in European poultry. Sweden reported another event that began on Feb 13 at a turkey farm in Skane County in the far south, killing 40 of 3,500 birds. Also, Ukrainian officials reported an outbreak in backyard birds in Kiev province in the north, killing 20 of 68 birds at the location. Meanwhile, Germany reported two more outbreaks at turkey and duck farms in Brandenburg state, which began on Feb 16 and killed 1,264 of 17,000 birds between the two locations.
Several countries in Europe reported more H5N8 detections in wild birds, including Germany, Sweden, Ireland, and Austria.
Feb 17 OIE report on H5N1 in Scotland
Feb 17 OIE report on H5N8 in Sweden
Feb 17 OIE report on H5N8 in Ukraine
Feb 18 OIE report on H5N8 in Germany
OIE outbreak notification page
News Scan for Feb 18, 2021
New funds, CEO for antibiotic development fund; Avian flu in Europe
Filed Under:
Antimicrobial Stewardship; Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
Antibiotic development effort notes $140 million in donations, new CEO
The AMR Action Fund announced today the appointment of a new chief executive officer and more than $140 million in investments from the Boehringer Ingleheim Foundation, The European Investment Bank, and the Wellcome Trust.
The investments in the AMR Action Fund, a public-private partnership launched in July 2020 to boost the antibiotic development pipeline, are its first non-pharmaceutical industry investments. The fund is an industry-led initiative developed by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, and includes Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, and Novartis among its backers. The fund plans to invest more than $1 billion in smaller biotech companies with the aim of bringing two to four new antibiotics to market by 2030.
"This fund will provide a lifeline for companies navigating the expensive and technically complex later stages of antibiotic development," Wellcome Trust director Jeremy Farrar, MD, PhD, said in an AMR Action Fund press release. "We are particularly pleased that the fund will place an emphasis on equitable access and responsible stewardship which is crucial to solving this global health challenge."
Taking the helm of the AMR Action Fund will be Henry Skinner, PhD, who brings decades of experience in the biomedical research, pharmaceutical, and venture capital industries.
"I am honored to join the AMR Action Fund and its incredibly important mission," Skinner said in a press release. "Having worked on this issue from many angles throughout my career, I know how badly novel antibiotics are needed, and I also know how many obstacles currently prevent them from being developed and reaching patients."
Feb 18 AMR Action Fund investment press release
Feb 18 AMR Action Fund CEO press release
High-path avian flu outbreaks strike more European farms
European countries reported more highly pathogenic avian flu outbreaks, mostly involving H5N8, but also one involving H5N1 in Scotland, according to the latest notifications from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
In Scotland, the H5N1 virus—different from the Asian genotype—struck a game farm in Fife. The outbreak began on Feb 6, killing 6,030 of 14,030 susceptible birds, mostly pheasants and partridges.
In H5N8 developments, officials reported more outbreaks in European poultry. Sweden reported another event that began on Feb 13 at a turkey farm in Skane County in the far south, killing 40 of 3,500 birds. Also, Ukrainian officials reported an outbreak in backyard birds in Kiev province in the north, killing 20 of 68 birds at the location. Meanwhile, Germany reported two more outbreaks at turkey and duck farms in Brandenburg state, which began on Feb 16 and killed 1,264 of 17,000 birds between the two locations.
Several countries in Europe reported more H5N8 detections in wild birds, including Germany, Sweden, Ireland, and Austria.
Feb 17 OIE report on H5N1 in Scotland
Feb 17 OIE report on H5N8 in Sweden
Feb 17 OIE report on H5N8 in Ukraine
Feb 18 OIE report on H5N8 in Germany
OIE outbreak notification page