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.
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
Dans le troisième épisode du Podcast d’action sur la RAM, l’animatrice invitée Julie Barré s’entretient avec le Dr. Daniel Thirion, Professeur titulaire de clinique à la Faculté de pharmacie de l’Université de Montréal, qui présente une perspective du Québec sur les innovations antimicrobiennes, la gérance des antimicrobiens et les raisons pour lesquelles combattre la résistance aux antimicrobiens est essentiel pour améliorer les résultats des patients. Julie Barré est une consultante sénior qui compte 25 années d’expérience professionnelle, dont 15 de celles-ci qui furent dédiée à la conceptualisation et la mise en place d’initiatives visant à transformer et améliorer les soins de santé pour la population canadienne.
Episode 3: Dr. Daniel Thirion
Our second episode of the AMR Action Podcast features Dr. George Zhanel, Professor, Medical Microbiology/Infectious Diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, and Dr. Daniel Thirion, Professor and Pharmacist, Universite de Montreal and Royal Victoria Hospital. CAIC Senior Advisor Dani Peters speaks with Dr. Zhanel and Dr. Thirion about a range of topics, including the role of federal and provincial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) programs, the challenges associated with improving patient outcomes amidst growing AMR and the need to fix the broken market for new or newer antimicrobials in Canada. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMeV0WZesDM&ab_channel=CanadianAntimicrobialInnovationCoalition%2CCAIC
Episode 2: George Zhanel and Daniel Thirion
