Washington, D.C. (June 8, 2018)– The International Council of Biotechnology Associations (ICBA) supports the Canadian Declaration on Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance, signed by biopharmaceutical and diagnostic companies in Canada and released today in conjunction with the opening of the G7 Summit in Charlevoix, Quebec.
“Since the Industry Declaration at Davos was signed in 2016, the issue of antimicrobial resistance has only grown in its urgency”, said Steve Bates, Vice-Chair of the ICBA and CEO of the Bioindustry Association (BIA) in the UK. Leadership and cooperation between all stakeholders, including national governments, industry and healthcare providers is needed to further protect our public health.”
“The Canadian Declaration presents similar commitments from the Canadian biomedical industry and research sector to invest in R&D of novel products to prevent, diagnose and treat resistant infections, as well as improve access to new and existing antibiotics and antibiotics alternatives for patients around the world.”
“The Canadian Declaration emphasizes the important role of governments can play in creating a climate that supports innovation and investment in the development of new products to combat antimicrobial resistance, while also maintaining safeguards for their appropriate use,” said Andrew Casey, Chair of the ICBA and President and CEO of BIOTECanada.
““ICBA encourages G7 and G20 countries to work collaboratively with industry to explore novel incentive models that enable sustainable investment in innovation to combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.”
“We stand together with our industry colleagues around the world in our commitment to working with all stakeholders to extend the tremendous public health benefits of antibiotics to future generations.”
