AMR Alliance Japan (Secretariat: HGPI) held an Urgent Forum on October 7, 2019, “The Stable Supply of Antimicrobials and Crisis in the Antimicrobial Market: A Call for Global Public-Private Cooperative Action from the G20.”

Every year, approximately 700,000 people die globally from antimicrobial resistance (AMR) related causes. Without serious action on this issue, it is estimated that as many as 10 million people could die annually due to AMR by 2050. To help address this issue, in July 2019, AMR Alliance Japan (Secretariat: Health and Global Policy Institute) released “AMR Alliance Japan Policy Recommendations: The Japanese Government’s Role in Promoting AMR Countermeasures.” These recommendations lay out seven concrete themes for action on AMR.

This Urgent Forum focused on three themes within those recommendations: “Establishing incentive models to encourage R&D for antimicrobials,” “Stabilizing the supply of antimicrobials” and “International collaborations to share case studies and lessons learned about AMR.”

Proper antimicrobial stewardship is vital to the fight against AMR and relies on the stable supply of antimicrobials. However, problems have arisen recently related to the supply of antimicrobials in Japan, threatening efforts to treat infectious disease and prevent surgery-related infections, and driving up medical costs. Because antimicrobial manufacturing is global, relying on production centers located all across the world, the resolution of antimicrobial supply issues is not possible through the efforts of one country alone. In addition, the manufacturing of individual antimicrobials often relies on just one production center or country. Given how global this issue is, it is crucial to consider its impact in terms of the health security as well.

Supply issues have arisen in the context of a worldwide crisis in the antimicrobial market. In light of issues such as falling prices and reimbursement rates and rising materials costs, it is challenging for pharmaceutical companies to research and develop new pharmaceuticals or ensure the stable supply of existing antimicrobial products. Solutions to structural issues in the antimicrobial market are urgently needed to prevent the further spread of AMR in the future.

Following the G20 Osaka Leaders’ Declaration released in June 2019, this Urgent Forum was held in advance of the G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting with the aim of advancing debate at the international level around urgent action to ensure the stable supply of antimicrobials and antimicrobial research and development. The discussion at this forum was compiled into a short report available for download at the bottom of this page.

■Program
Meeting Start/Explanatory Introduction
 Ryoji Noritake (CEO, Board Member, HGPI)

Welcome Remarks
 Masaki Yoshida (Professor, Infection Diseases and Infection Control, The Jikei University Hospital)

Presentation 1 – The Stable Supply of Antimicrobials: The Current Situation and Expectations Towards the Future
 Tetsuya Matsumoto (Chief Professor, Department of Infectious Diseases, International University of Health and Welfare Graduate School of Medicine)

Presentation 2 – Global Action on the Supply of Antimicrobials
 Yoshiaki Gu (Chief, Information and Education Division, AMR Clinical Reference Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine)

Presentation 3 – Recent Global Trends and Expectations for Japanese Leadership on AMR Countermeasures
 Jeremy Knox (Policy and Advocacy Lead, Drug-Resistant Infections Programme, Wellcome Trust)*
*By video from the United Kingdom

Panel Discussion – Measures to Ensure the Stable Supply of Antimicrobials
Panelists:
 Eiji Hinoshita (Director, Tuberculosis and Infectious Disease Control Division, Health Service Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)

 Hajime Inoue (Director General, Bureau of Strategic Planning, National Center for Global Health and Medicine)

 Hiroshi Kiyota (President, Japanese Society of Chemotherapy / Professor, Department of Urology, The Jikei University Katsushika Medical Center)

 Takuko Sawada (Executive Vice President, Shionogi & Co., Ltd.)

 Moderator:

Tomohito Shibata (Senior Associate, HGPI)

Closing Remarks
 Keizo Takemi (Member of the House of Councillors)