Lord O’Neill, author of the groundbreaking government-commissioned AMR report in 2016, is part of a new AMC (advance market commitment) set to explore the impact of affordable rapid diagnostics on some of the world’s most prevalent health challenges.
The peer’s AMC takes inspiration from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance’s successful AMC model to promote vaccines across the developing world. One of their first missions will be to explore the value of diagnostic tools for neonatal sepsis in lower-middle-income countries, which estimates show takes the lives of up to 700,000 babies each year.
Researchers on the project believe that if a diagnostic test was widely used, 100,000 babies’ lives could be saved every year, and antibiotic use among this patient population would fall by 20%.
This AMC would involve funders committing in advance to make top-up payments when healthcare providers procure and use qualifying diagnostic tests, providing sufficient market returns to incentivise private companies to develop these essential tools.
Through this initiative, Lord O’Neill will publish a series of papers over the next 18 months assessing how the AMC should be financed and which organisations should oversee delivery. BIVDA will seek to support Lord O’Neill and his colleagues in this endeavour through our ongoing programme of AMR work.
In a piece for Project Syndicate following the announcement, the peer expressed his disappointment at the lack of action on AMR by successive governments following his review.
He warns that without new incentives and supply-boosting recommendations, efforts to tackle the issue are likely to flounder. The low cost of antibiotics compared to diagnostics means the prescribing environment is challenging. Thus Lord O’Neill has reiterated his call for diagnostic tests to be mandated prior to a prescription, where possible.
You can read his full article here.
