The Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA) and the Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI; Secretariat of AMR Alliance Japan) have launched a new report raising the alert on the coupled crises of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and a lack of antibiotic innovation. The new report, Taking Action for AMR Preparedness: Spurring Antibiotic Innovation for Healthy Ageing in Super-Ageing Japan, brings together insights from a private roundtable hosted by GCOA in May in collaboration with HGPI and sponsored by Pfizer Japan.

At the May roundtable, Japanese and global experts and decision makers discussed the impact of AMR on older adults, and the dire consequences of AMR for fiscal sustainability and economic growth in Japan and other aging societies. Based on that discussion, the five key takeaways of the new report offer a roadmap for action on this important issue for Japan and other aging societies:

1. Innovative policy structures that support antimicrobial innovation are being modeled in countries including the United Kingdom and the United States.
2. Global collaboration on AMR and antimicrobial innovation is essential. No single country can solve this problem by itself.
3. AMR is an urgent issue for Japan in light of the impact that it could have on Japan’s super-ageing society.
4. There is a window of opportunity for Japan to recognize the important role of incentives for innovation in protecting the Japanese public from the impact of AMR.
5. There are lessons learned from COVID-19 that could help to address the AMR crisis.

For further information, please see the report below.