Source: AMR Action Fund newsletter
AMR Action Fund September Newsletter
UPDATES FROM THE AMR ACTION FUND
A Message from Dr. Henry Skinner
CEO, AMR Action Fund
With the first anniversary of the AMR Action Fund’s launch now behind us, I’m proud to say we’ve built many of the foundational elements necessary to help us achieve our mission of bringing 2 to 4 new antibiotics to market by 2030. Importantly, we’ve brought on the experts who can help us to successfully invest in developing novel antibiotics, with the appointment of our board chair, Bill Burns; our head of investments, Martin Heidiger; and the chair of our Scientific Advisory Board, Dr. John Rex. I’m thrilled to be working with these individuals, and look forward to seeing the contributions they bring to our mission.
The continued struggle to adequately address COVID-19 and its quickly developing variants only underscore the urgent need for action against AMR. This action must be all-encompassing, ranging from industry collaboration and advocacy partnership to new legislation like the PASTEUR Act introduced in the U.S. House and Senate. The passage of policies such as those contained in this bill would facilitate the financing of the research and development of new antibiotics the development of a new “subscription model.” This pioneering legislation would pay companies for the value of the antibiotics they develop, regardless of sales volume. This is a huge step toward bridging the funding gap in the antibiotic pipeline and helping to solve the “valley of death.”
This issue impacts each of us and we must all come together to increase awareness of the urgency of AMR and to encourage action.
Best regards,
Henry Skinner
Chief Executive Officer
ANNOUNCEMENTS
This month, the AMR Action Fund announced the appointment of William (Bill) Burns as Board Chair. Mr. Burns has a lifelong career in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry, providing invaluable experience for his role as Board Chair today when the need for novel antibiotics is more critical than ever. He previously served as CEO of the global Pharmaceutical Division of Roche, on the main Roche board, Genentech, Chugai, and as a non-executive director of Shire Pharmaceuticals and the smaller biotechnology companies Crucell, Biotie, and Okairos. More recently, Mr. Burns was a board member of Wellcome Trust until 2020. Currently, he is a member of the Novo Holdings advisory group, chair of Molecular Partners, Vestergaard Holdings, and vice-chair of Mesoblast. We’re thrilled to have Mr. Burns join the AMR Action Fund. His appointment brings us even closer to achieving the goals of the AMR Action Fund.
EVENTS
Dr. Skinner was a panelist at the G20 / Health20 Summit earlier this month to discuss recommendations around global health crisis management and financing with G20 policymakers, international organizations, the global health community, economists, civil society, and academia. Dr. Skinner shared his perspective on the urgency to raise awareness of the AMR crisis, saying, “Each AMR infection is a human story, just not as visible as it should be.”
In August, Dr. Skinner participated in the 5th AMR Conference, bringing together SMEs, start-ups, industry, academia, investors, and public institutions to discuss strategies and the specific challenges faced by SMEs in bringing new antimicrobial treatments and diagnostics to the market. Dr. Skinner shared updates and plans for the Fund and spoke about financing and investing in AMR. Read the session report here.
For further information on events please visit the Resources section at www.amractionfund.com/resources/.
IN THE NEWS
This month, AMR Action Fund CEO Henry Skinner joined the host of “The State of Health” podcast, Gunnar Esiason, as part of his series on Antibiotic Resistance. In the podcast episode, Mr. Esiason and Dr. Skinner discussed the challenges of bringing new antibiotics to market and the pharmaceutical industry’s role in tackling antibiotic resistance. Dr. Skinner emphasized how the Fund sets itself apart from classic VCs by focusing on developing new antibiotics to meet the highest clinical needs for patients. Listen to the full episode with Dr. Skinner here, as well as the episode with PASTEUR Act co-sponsor Senator Todd Young here.
For further news updates please visit the Resources section at www.amractionfund.com/resources/.
SOCIAL MEDIA
The AMR Action Fund’s Twitter and LinkedIn accounts share relevant content and news around the Fund and AMR developments. We encourage you to follow the AMR Action Fund’s social media handles and share our content across your platforms.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE AMR ACTION FUND
The AMR Action Fund remains committed to bridging the gap between the small biotechs developing novel antibiotics and commercialization. Following our appointment of Dr. John Rex as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board this summer, we look forward to announcing the appointments for the full SAB soon.
The AMR Action Fund is focused on identifying potential investments and is aiming to make its first investments in the coming months.
 |
Thank you to all our partners for your continued support of the AMR Action Fund. If you’d like to speak to the AMR Action Fund as a part of any upcoming media interviews or events, please reach out to John Alter (media@amractionfund.com) for more information.
