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FIND & GARDP part of ARC Research Hub on AMR

FIND & GARDP part of ARC Research Hub on AMR

Dear FIND colleagues, partners, friends,

I am happy to share the following joint statement issued today by FIND and GARDP.

Catharina

GARDP and FIND welcome the Australian Minister for Education’s announcement of AUD 5M to establish an Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Hub to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance, which will be led by the Kirby Institute.

Speaking of the announcement, Dr Manica Balasegaram, Executive Director of GARDP, commented, “As a global partnership developing and delivering new treatments against antibiotic-resistant infections, GARDP is very excited to be a contributor and partner of the ARC Hub. We are not only taking on the challenge but we are, importantly, part of the solution to address AMR in Australia, and globally, including for sexually transmitted infections. Our collaboration with the ARC Hub is part of GARDP’s increasing presence in Australia’s R&D landscape, and follows our partnership with the University of Queensland’s Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery (CO-ADD) announced earlier this year.”

Catharina Boehme, CEO of FIND, added, “The partnership with the ARC Hub will enable us to accelerate the development of cutting-edge diagnostic solutions that are critical for the global fight against AMR. Our longstanding R&D relationships in Australia enable us to optimize tools for emerging market needs.”

AMR is a growing problem globally. Bacteria, viruses, and some parasites are increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials, posing a serious threat to human health. Antibiotic overuse combined with an inadequate pipeline for diagnostic technologies and new drugs has led to this development.

The ARC Hub will focus on sexually transmitted microorganisms, which is a critical area of concern in Australia.

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The ARC Research Hub to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance is a collaboration between the following organisations:

Australian universities: UNSW Sydney (Kirby Institute, Centre for Social Research in Health), University of Queensland, Monash University, UTS and University of Melbourne.

Industry and partner organisations: SpeeDx Pty Ltd, Cepheid, Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Opal Biosciences Ltd, Boulos and Cooper Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, The Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP), The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), the Central and Eastern Sydney PHN, and NPS MedicineWise.

Other collaborating organisations: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, WHO Collaborating Centre for Sexually Transmitted Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance, Melbourne Sexual Health Clinic, Western Sydney Sexual Health Centre, Sydney Sexual Health Centre, Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, and Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre.

THIS statement in PDF

Photo credit: University of Queensland