Leading Biomedical industry and Research-Based Groups Launch Coalition against Antimicrobial Resistance

To mark World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, Canada’s leading biomedical industry and research-based organizations have come together to form the Canadian Antimicrobial Innovation Coalition (CAIC). The group will work to accelerate Canada’s response to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through biomedical innovation, regulatory advisory, and market access. AMR is the resistance to medicines that help treat infections caused by pathogenic bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites.

“The rapid emergence and spread of drug resistant infections in Canada is a serious public health concern that will only be exacerbated with the COVID-19 outbreak,” says Sameeh Salama, Chair of CAIC’s Steering Committee and Chief Scientific Officer at Fedora Pharmaceuticals. “According to the Canadian Council of Academies, by 2050, it is highly plausible that 40% of all bacterial infections would be resistant to antibiotics, having contributed to 396,000 lives lost and shrinking the Canadian economy by $388 billion. The development of a coalition such as CAIC has never been more vital.”