Pfizer Denmark, Pharmadanmark and the Novo Nordisk Foundation have initiated the alliance and aim to prevent the growing spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

“The challenge of antimicrobial resistance cannot be solved by one country alone and requires a global effort. Denmark can play an important role in this by establishing significant initiatives that can inspire other countries to follow,” says Steffen Pierini Lüders, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Novo Nordisk Foundation.

The new Danish AMR Alliance currently includes 20 partners. The goal is to bring together everyone that is affected by and can influence the problem of antimicrobial resistance around joint initiatives that supplement the initiatives already in place in Denmark, states the initiators.

“The crucial factor is changing the framework conditions for research and development of new types of antibiotics so that we avoid patients risking death from trivial infections,” says Stine Hasling Mogensen, Chair of Pharmadanmark.

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Hans Jørn Kolmos, Professor of Clinical Microbiology from the Research Unit of Clinical Microbiology at the University of Southern Denmark and Department of Clinical Microbiology at Odense University Hospital, is part of the new alliance.

“Major surgery for transplanting organs and chemotherapy require having antibiotics available to prevent and treat the infections that arise from complications of these often very invasive and risky interventions. I seriously fear that we will end up not being able to treat people if we do nothing about antimicrobial resistance. So this is not a distant future we are looking at here,” he says.

Hans Jørn Kolmos points to studies showing that, in 2050, antibiotic-resistant bacteria will kill as many people as cancer.

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The members of the new Alliance

Pfizer Danmark, Novo Nordisk Fonden, Pharmadanmark, Lægemiddelindustriforeningen (Lif), Dansk Industri, Dansk Erhverv – Sundhed og Life Science, Forskningsenheden for Klinisk Mikrobiologi ved SDU og Klinisk Mikrobiologisk Afdeling ved OUH, Snipr Biome, Rådet For Bedre Hygiejne, Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Det Sundhedsvidenskabelige Fakultet, Københavns Universitet, CPH Bio, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Københavns Universitet, GSK, Triangulate Health, Dialab, Gigtforeningen, Det natur- og biovidenskabelige fakultet, Science, Københavns Universitet, Afdeling for Infektionssygdomme, Aarhus Universitet/Aarhus Universitetshospital, Infektionsmedicinsk Afdeling Q, Odense Universitetshospital and Microbial Ecology and Biotechnology, Københavns Universitet.

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