******* The Final Report has been published on April 11, 2019 .
For more information, please refer to the PDF.

Every year, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) kills approximately 700,000 people globally. The magnitude of this issue drove the WHO to adopt a Global Action Plan on AMR during its May 2015 World Health Assembly. That action plan called upon member states to reinforce measures against AMR and draw up their own national action plans. In addition to those efforts, many countries have been working to establish alliances on this issue. Such momentum for international collaboration must be sustained. It is hoped that measures against AMR will be included in the agenda of the upcoming G20 Osaka Summit to be held in June 2019.

In Japan, AMR has become a major challenge for many medical facilities, with cases of community-acquired drug-resistant infections on the rise nationally. Japan enacted its National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance in April 2016. Sensing the growing concern about AMR domestically and abroad, HGPI has taken the initiative to host three expert meetings on this subject since 2016. The 1st expert meeting, “Japan’s Role in Addressing Global Antimicrobial Resistance” brought together actors from the Government, academia, and industry for a debate on policy. The 2nd meeting produced “Seven Recommendations for Promoting Measures Against AMR.” The 3rd meeting coincided with World Antibiotic Awareness Week, and again brought together stakeholders from the Government, academia, and industry for a discussion on Japan’s national action plan, concrete obstacles to its implementation, and measures to overcome those obstacles. In September 2018, HGPI convened the AMR Alliance Japan Kick-off Meeting to discuss the vision for AMR Alliance Japan and further promote policies on AMR based on the conversations in the previous three expert meetings.   

To commemorate the official establishment of AMR Alliance Japan, HGPI hosted a global expert meeting featuring representatives from academia, the Government, industry, and civil society. Based on the issues raised during the Kick-off Meeting, participants debated and defined the concrete initiatives that the Alliance should undertake on matters such as the revision of the medical fee system in order to promote rapid diagnostic technology, guidelines on the proper use of antimicrobials for both medical personnel and the public, the creation of an AMR surveillance data repository, the founding of a Japanese consortium for drug discovery, and the promotion of incentives for stimulating drug development.

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Explanatory Introduction

　Ryoji Noritake (CEO, Board Member, HGPI)

Welcome Remarks 

　Kiyoshi Kurokawa (Chairman, HGPI) *Video address 

Keynote Address

　Kuniaki Miyake (Director, Tuberculosis and Infectious Diseases Control Division, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)

Panel Discussion 1 – Expectations for AMR Alliance Japan Policy Recommendations

      Panelists:

• 　Satoshi Kamayachi (Executive Board Member, Japan Medical Association)
•     Hiroshi Kiyota (President, Japanese Society of Chemotherapy /Professor, Department of Urology, The Jikei University Katsushika Medical Center)
• 　Jenelle S. Krishnamoorthy (Associate Vice President, Global Policy, Communications and Population Health, Merck & Co.)
• 　Takuko Sawada (Director of the Board, Vice President, Corporate Strategy Dvision, Shionogi & Co., Ltd.)
• 　Kazuhiro Hamaji (Nippon Becton Dickinson Company, Ltd.)

     Moderator:

•      Matt McEnany (Manager, HGPI)

Panel Discussion 2 – Multi-stakeholder Cooperation on AMR Policies

      Panelists:

• 　Kyoko Ama (Representative, Ippan Shadan Hojin Shiro Shoni Iryo Mamoro Kodomo-tachi no Kai)
• 　Kazuhiro Tateda (President, The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases / President, The Japanese Society for Clinical Microbiology / Professor, Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Toho University)
• 　Yasunori Tawaragi (Director, International Affairs, Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association)
• 　Kuniaki Miyake (Director, Tuberculosis and Infectious Diseases Control Division, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)

    Moderator:

• 　Manami Takamatsu (Manager, HGPI)

Closing Remarks

　Mitsuo Kaku (President, The Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control/ Professor, Infection Control and Laboratory Diagnostics, Internal Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University)

The event report will be uploaded at a later time.

Following this expert meeting, HGPI will host a “2019 preparatory meeting for the Alliance’s tasks and activities (roundtable discussion).”

The founding of the Alliance was featured on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) webpage about its Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness activities, available on the below link.

WHO website: Global Expert Meeting to Commemorate the Establishment of AMR Alliance Japan

(No particular order, titles omitted)

(Photographed by: Kazunori Izawa)