Digital health and social care agency Healthcare Innovation Consortium (HIC) is launching a new programme aimed at combatting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at Global Health 2023.
The AMR innovation programme, in collaboration with Mecomed and Barts Life Sciences, targets health tech innovators with solutions that can directly address AMR or be adapted to do so.
The aim is to fast-track cutting-edge technologies into the market, with a special focus on the UK and the Middle East, fostering partnerships with the health and life sciences ecosystem.
HIC is actively seeking technologies that promote the optimal use of antibiotics in clinical practice, enhance infection prevention and control, and aid in the identification of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The programme will be officially launched on the ABHI UK Pavilion at Global Health in Saudi Arabia.
The application window will open until December 1, with the programme of support beginning late January 2024 and spanning two months.
Suzie Ali-Hassan, Chief Partnerships Officer, Healthcare Innovation Consortium, said: “If we don’t address AMR, everyday operations like caesarean sections and hip replacements would be too dangerous to perform, and minor illnesses could become life-threatening.
“We want to amplify the UK’s contribution to containing and controlling AMR by bringing innovators together with researchers and industry experts to tackle this global priority.
“We’re looking for diagnostic tools, smart systems, prescribing tools, screening devices, and other technologies that can support AMR prevention and management.”
AMR is recognised by the World Health Organization as one of the biggest threats to global health and is rising to dangerously high levels worldwide.
The key drivers of AMR include poor access to quality, affordable medicines, vaccines and diagnostics.
In 2019, the UK government published a 20-year vision and five-year national action plan for how the UK will contribute to containing and controlling AMR by 2040.
A global action plan on AMR was endorsed at the World Health Assembly in May 2015.
Addressing AMR is a global imperative, necessitating co-ordinated efforts from nations and various sectors.
HIC’s new AMR innovation programme is delivered in partnership with Mecomed, the medical devices, imaging, and diagnostics trade association in the Middle East & Africa; Barts Life Sciences, an NHS/academic partner providing clinical and academic expertise; Hill Dickinson, a leading law firm offering support with legal and regulatory matters; and Piper Health, a group specialising in commercialisation.
To mark the launch, HIC is to host a programme launch event at Global Health Exhibition 2023, featuring a lunchtime session with local health system and policy leaders, offering insights into this global health challenge and threat.
ABHI’s Head of International Events, Michelle Michelucci added : “We are delighted to be offering a UK Pavilion within Saudi Arabia, at Global Health Exhibition, for the very first time.
“The fact that organisations like Healthcare Innovation Consortium are using this platform to launch new initiatives and products speaks to the opportunity that the region presents for bringing new solutions to patients.”
