Department of Health
Professor Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer for England and UK government adviser, has appointed an expert advisory board to support the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF).
The 12 member board will advise how the UK can best spend an additional 50 million over the next 5 years to work with global partners to fund innovative initiatives to tackle drug resistant infections, which includes resistance to antibiotics.
The GAMRIF will help to invest in:
- high quality research and development and stimulate innovation to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to promote the welfare of people in low and middle income countries
- neglected areas which may currently lack commercial or academic interest, for example for research that aspires to prolong the shelf life of existing antibiotics
- areas of research and development around new therapeutics, alternative therapies, preventative measures and diagnostics
The expert advisory board will provide critical advice on aspects such as the precise scope of the fund, scientific objectives and investment opportunities. This will be based on evidence, taking into account existing funding activities nationally and internationally and identifying problems and inefficiencies in the system, as well as where the health need is greatest in low and middle income countries.
Professor Dame Sally Davies said:
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses the biggest threat to global health with the potential to kill millions each year. No one nation, or sector can tackle this alone and therefore it is critical that we encourage the public, private, and third sectors to work together to tackle AMR globally.
I am proud that we are bringing together such a wealth of expertise to form a multi-disciplinary board that will identify the gaps within the current funding system and the best opportunities for funding solutions. This is a key part of the UK government strategy for AMR.
Christopher Egerton-Warburton, has been appointed as the chair of the expert advisory board and will represent the GAMRIF internationally. He is a founding partner at Lions Head Global Partners and is an expert in the structuring and execution of innovative financing solutions, having been involved in innovative financing for health for over a decade, particularly working on vaccines.
Membership of the expert advisory board includes:
- Prof Rosanna Peeling, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Prof Keith Klugman, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- Prof Susanna Sternberg Lewerin, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Prof Kelly Chibale, University of Cape Town
- Dr David Gray, University of Dundee
- Prof Melissa Leach, University of Sussex
- Prof Elias Mossialos, London School of Economics and Imperial College London
- Dr Bill Love, Destiny Pharma
- Ms Florence Sjourn, Da Volterra
- Dr Jorge Villacian, Janssen Diagnostics
- Dr Theo Kanellos, Zoetis