In this tenth episode of the AMR Action Podcast, Dani Peters, CAIC Senior Advisor, speaks with Dr. Curtis Nickel, Professor Emeritus, Department of Urology, Queen’s University and Kingston Health Sciences Centre, on the issue of urinary tract infections (UTIs), and why recurring UTIs present a public health issue, especially within the context of rising rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
In this ninth episode of the AMR Action Podcast, Dani Peters, CAIC Senior Advisor, speaks with Dr. Sue Twine, National Research Council of Canada’s Director General of the Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, and researchers Dr. Danielle Peters and Alyssa McAdorey, about their work to address the growing public health threat of antimicrobial resistance and the importance of collaborating across institutions and industry in order to tackle the “next big silent pandemic.” https://www.youtube.com/embed/3KyLmGMyasI
Episode 9 – Dr. Sue Twine, Dr. Danielle Peters & Alyssa McAdorey
Dr. Henry Skinner, CEO of the AMR Action Fund, joins Dani Peters, CAIC Senior Advisor, during World Antimicrobial Awareness Week to discuss the status of the global campaign to combat antimicrobial resistance in this 8th episode of the AMR Action Podcast. Dr. Skinner shares his perspective on the challenges with the broken market, and the barriers that need to be overcome in order to expedite innovation for new antimicrobials. He also discusses incentive models for policy makers and why more robust investments are needed from the private sector. Finally, he shares his optimism stemming from new technologies that are being tested and supported through the AMR Action Fund. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XTaXmmjV7NI
Episode 8 – Dr. Henry Skinner
Our seventh episode of the AMR Action Podcast features Dr. Larissa Matukas, an Associate Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto, Head of the Division of Microbiology and an Infectious Disease Consultant at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto. Dr. Matukas speaks about stewardship, surveillance and the use of diagnostic technologies to help combat antimicrobial resistance. https://www.youtube.com/embed/oIGZNVLfUzU
Episode 7 – Dr. Larissa Matukas
In this episode of the AMR Action Podcast, Lorna McEwan, a cystic fibrosis patient advocate spoke with Dani Peters, CAIC Senior Advisor, about her unique experiences as the oldest CF patient diagnosed at birth in Saskatchewan and her work as a CF advocate. Lorna shares her perspective regarding the importance of biomedical innovation, specifically how a gene-altering drug brought to Canada in 2021 has changed her life for the better. She also provides advice on how patients can advocate for themselves, not give up and share their experiences to impact broader policy and health care in Canada. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAp6mlAT5kc
Episode 6 – Lorna McEwan
Patient advocates Hailey Laxer, cystic fibrosis (CF) patient, and Kristine Russell, sepsis survivor, speak with CAIC senior advisor Dani Peters about their unique patient journeys and how antibiotics have saved each of their lives. They discuss how the new antibiotic pipeline has dried up and the critical role of biomedical innovation in enabling Canadians to live healthier, better lives. Hailey and Kristine also share their personal stories and perspectives on how patients should be engaged in the issues related to antimicrobial resistance and access to newer antimicrobials in Canada. Hailey S. Laxer is a driven and ambitious leader with a keen interest in healthcare, health equity and disability rights. She is currently studying law at McGill University with the goal of using law to inform and empower her efforts in health and patient advocacy. Hailey is a results-driven fundraiser of over $390,000 for Cystic Fibrosis Canada. She is a tireless public speaker and advocate for access to medications and patient rights. Her efforts for this cause earned her regional and provincial honours. Kristine Russell is a survivor of postpartum sepsis as well as the parent of a child who also survived neonatal sepsis. In addition to being involved as a Patient Advisor with CAIC, she is actively involved with Alberta Health Services, UBC’s Action on Sepsis and Sepsis Canada, and is also the Marketing and Communications Program Manager for Sepsis Canada’s network. She calls Medicine Hat, Alberta her home with her husband Steven, sons Nolan, Gavin, and daughter, fellow sepsis survivor, Ellie. https://www.youtube.com/embed/eefx7HgnEx0
Episode 5: Hailey Laxer & Kristine Russell
About the speakers:
Media Release Embargoed until Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 11 a.m. EDT Canadian researchers and industry partners jointly-develop new recommendations to combat ‘superbugs’ in Canada A new proposal developed by an interdisciplinary team of McMaster University researchers and members of the Canadian Antimicrobial Innovation Coalition (CAIC) calls upon Canadian public health officials to make necessary changes to how novel antibiotics are approved, procured, and accessed in Canada in order to slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR occurs when microbes develop ways to protect themselves from the effects of antimicrobial medications, such as antibiotics. These resistant microbes are colloquially known as ‘superbugs.’ Today, new antibiotics — drugs with efficacy against these superbugs — are approved for use in other jurisdictions but remain unavailable to Canadian patients. Furthermore, there is a global decline in the development of novel antibiotics that necessitates policy incentives in Canada and other industrialized countries to spur new product innovation. “This proposal provides an important tool for policymakers, health providers and other stakeholders in the health ecosystem to inform the development, testing and implementation of economic incentive models to better address AMR in Canada,” says Wes Miyai, project steering committee member and Associate Director, Public Health and External Affairs at Merck Canada. In fact, new research published in Clinical Infectious Diseases reveals that, of 18 novel antibiotics approved and commercially launched in 14 high-income countries over the past decade, only two have been introduced in Canada — the fewest on the entire list. Meanwhile, other countries, like the U.S., have introduced as many as 17 new antibiotics within the same span. “We believe that this can be rectified through incentivization and regulatory improvements, as other G7 countries are doing,” says Lori Burrows, associate director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR), and project lead. “But having these newer antibiotics commercially launched here is just part of the equation. Canada must also expand front-line access to these medications through measures related to data, costs, distribution, and supply and demand.” Some of the recommendations put forth in this proposal include: The proposal also calls upon the Canadian government to encourage pharmaceutical companies to bring their products to the Canadian market through an incentive model that is based on an antibiotic’s overall value to the Canadian health care system, thereby delinking sales volume from pharmaceutical return on investment. “Part of the reason we’re seeing drugs approved elsewhere but not here in Canada is because approval costs are high, our population is relatively small, and physicians try to use new antibiotics only as a last resort, to reduce the chance of resistance to them developing,” Burrows explained. “These factors make it unlikely that companies will see a return on their investment; however, guaranteeing revenue for manufacturers – similar to what the government did to purchase COVID-19 vaccines – reduces those financial risks and encourages companies to bring these life-saving medications to the Canadian market.” Previous reporting by the Council of Canadian Academies revealed the devastating social and economic consequences of leaving AMR unchecked in Canada. The report, When Antibiotics Fail, shows that 26% of infections in Canada are currently resistant to the drugs used to treat them, but that this rate is expected to rise to 40% by 2050. If these forecasts are accurate, AMR is anticipated to cost nearly 400,000 Canadian lives and $388 billion in GDP losses over the next 30 years. More concerning is the fact that these forecasts were made before the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shown to have exacerbated AMR considerably. “The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us what life is like when we have an infectious disease for which we have no viable treatments,” said Pamela Fralick, President of Innovative Medicines Canada, a member organization of CAIC. “It has also shown us how the federal and provincial governments can coordinate in the face of emerging public health threats. While AMR is a slower-moving pandemic, it is worsening every day. Rewarding innovation and having more treatment options accessible here in Canada will help slow the development of resistance, saving lives and reducing pressure on our healthcare system in the process.” This project was supported by and developed in partnership with the Canadian Antimicrobial Innovation Coalition (CAIC), a non-profit alliance of industry organizations including Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Innovative Medicines Canada, and more. Editors: Relevant images may be found at: https://macdrive.mcmaster.ca/d/b8e06c859de24c8387f1/ The full proposal is available at: https://iidr.mcmaster.ca/MAAC/ About CAIC The Canadian Antimicrobial Innovation Coalition (CAIC) is composed of Canada’s key players in biomedical innovation, biopharmaceutical, diagnostic and research industries. CAIC’s mandate is to help protect Canadians from the rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), by positioning Canada to be a leader in AMR research and product development, economic growth, and investment. Our current Steering Committee Members include representatives of : Adapsyn, BD-Canada, bioMérieux Canada inc. DeNovaMed Inc, Fedora Pharmaceuticals, GSK Inc., Merck Canada Inc., saNOtize Inc. For more information visit www.amrinnovation.ca and follow us on Twitter @CanadaAMR.
Our fourth episode of the AMR Action Podcast features Dr. Lori Burrows, Associate Director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR), McMaster University and Dr. Gerry Wright, Director of the IIDR, McMaster University. CAIC Senior Advisor Dani Peters speaks with Dr. Burrows and Dr. Wright about the McMaster Antibiotic Access & Capacity (MAAC) Project, a collaboration between CAIC and McMaster University. Steered by a committee whose members represent the many facets of the antibiotic space in Canada — industry, academia, economics, microbiology, policy, knowledge translation, and medicine — the MAAC Project was established to improve the health of Canadians by increasing prescribing options and optimizing the use of appropriate antibiotics via an integrated model that follows the principles of accessibility, stewardship, and reasonable costs. Tune into the episode to learn more and access the full report: https://iidr.mcmaster.ca/MAAC/ https://www.youtube.com/embed/6-7SPfiYChQ
Episode 4: Lori Burrows and Gerry Wright
