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GNA NOW Annual Meeting & Expert Meeting
September was a busy month for Lygature's GNA NOW Consortium, as partners gathered in Porto, Portugal, for the Annual Consortium Meeting. Additionally, on Day 1 of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Conference – a prominent event in the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) space – the Consortium held an Expert Meeting that brought together several well-known AMR specialists.
As project coordinator, Lygature was in the lead for both meetings. The Annual Meeting focused on reviewing the progress made over the past year and outlining the key milestones and deliverables that lie ahead. Meanwhile, the Expert Meeting was focused on developing a Target Product Profile (TPP) for antibiotics targeting severe enteric infections in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
A gathering of great minds to tackle the AMR pandemic
The well-attended Expert Meeting engaged specialists in defining a TPP for antibiotics targeting bacterial enteric infections – specifically E. coli, Shigella, Salmonella, and Campylobacter – major health concerns in LMICs, particularly among young children.
The session featured a panel discussion with the following notable experts: Dr. Valeria Gigante (World Health Organization), Dr. Seamus O'Brien (Global Antibiotic R&D Partnership (GARDP)), Prof. Dorothy Yeboah-Manu (Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), University of Ghana), Prof. David Paterson (Saw Swee Hock School Of Public Health, Singapore), Prof. Sam Kariuki (Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative - DNDi, Kenya), and Dr. Joseph (Herb) Harwell (Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc.). Dr. Kristina Orrling, GNA NOW Consortium coordinator and Global Health Portfolio Co-Lead at Lygature, opened the event, which was chaired by Erin Duffy of CARB-X.
The panel discussed the complexities of treating severe enteric infections, which are often presented by more than one pathogen, making accurate diagnosis challenging. Additionally, these infections have the potential to cause invasive disease and become a major health problem. Topics such as treatment adherence, safety requirements, and ensuring access, equity, and affordability for new therapies were also thoroughly examined.
“Our Expert Meeting brought together leading experts to address a critical and under-studied challenge – severe bacterial enteric infections in low- and middle-income countries. By focusing on the unique needs of these regions, we aim to develop affordable and effective therapies that save lives,” said Dr. Kristina Orrling, GNA NOW Consortium coordinator and Global Health Portfolio Co-Lead at Lygature.
The outcomes of the Expert Meeting are expected to be summarized and disseminated through a scientific publication.
In case you missed it, our colleague Kristina Orrling, on behalf of the GNA NOW Consortium, contributed to a paper published on 23 September in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery calling for sustainable investment in AMR Research & Development. Read more about this publication here and also take a look at this article from the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) profiling the call to action.
The GNA NOW Consortium is a proud partner of the AMR Accelerator. Find out more about Lygature's role in the Consortium here.
Acknowledgement of support
The GNA NOW project has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement No 853979: ‘GNA NOW: Gram-Negative Antibacterials NOW’. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and is part of the AMR Accelerator.