Biotech companies in Europe have taken on joint responsibility for tackling the emergence of multi-drug resistant bacteria, forming an alliance of 37 companies that have pledged to accelerate progress in dealing with this threat.
The BEAM Alliance says its members bring together expertise in the design and development of new antibiotics, the identification and implementation of preventative strategies against resistance, and in the design of improved diagnostic technologies to facilitate more targeted and appropriate antibiotic treatment.
There is a feeling amongst small biotech companies that their skills are being overlooked in the rush of initiatives that are in hand to confront the problem of drug-resistant bacteria. Large pharma companies have been engaged through the EU’s Innovative Medicines Initiative, which has several projects in the antibiotics field. Meanwhile biotechs in the UK feel their potential contribution has not been properly assessed by the reports published to date by the government’s O’Neill review body.
Florence Séjourné, CEO of one of the members of BEAM, French antibiotics specialist Da Volterra says research and development investment in antibiotic therapies, novel alternative and preventative approaches and diagnostics is very clearly coming from smaller, innovative biotechs. “As a combined force, the BEAM alliance and its member companies have the potential to make a real and significant difference to a massive health crisis – globally but from Europe,” Séjourné said.
The Alliance says it will remain at the forefront of antibiotic drug, device and diagnostic discovery and development as a combined technical and scientific force across Europe. It also intends to stimulate research and development activities focused on combating antibiotic resistance and to promote new policies and regulation around the use and development of antimicrobial resistance strategies.
BEAM’s overall mission is to improve the European regulatory, investment and commercial environment for research, development and market viability of new products combating antibiotic resistance. This mission and the Alliance’s strategy will be set out in detail in a white paper scheduled for publication at the end of June 2015.
List of member companies
ABAC Therapeutics, Abgentis, Absynth Biologics, Adenium Biotech, Aicuris, Alaxia, Allecra, Antabio, AntibioTx, Arsanis Biosciences, Bioversys, Biovertis, Cantab Anti-infectives, Da Volterra, Deinobiotics, Destiny Pharma, Discuva, Eligo Bioscience, Evotec, FAB Pharma, Helperby, Immunsystem, Lamellar Biomedical, MaaT Pharma, MGB Biopharma Limited, Mutabilis, Naicons, Northern Antibiotics, Nosopharm, Novabiotics, Pherecydes, Polyphor, Procarta, Redx Pharma, Setlance, Setubio, TechnoPhage
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