Full Version - Antibiotic Action

Antibiotic Action Successes
Public Engagement
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Antibiotic Action successfully communicates the importance of the following topics to politicians,
government officials, and the public:
a. Antibacterial stewardship
b. Epidemiology and impact of antibiotic resistance
c. Equitable global access
d. Lack of new treatments.
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Antibiotic Action has developed a high public profile through public engagement activities such as
the social media Thunderclap campaign for Antibiotic Awareness Day 2014 and the development of
the Antibiotic Guardian scheme, an online site where members can pledge to do their part to slow
the spread of antibiotic resistance.
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Antibiotic Action has helped to develop a display on antibiotic resistance at the Science Museum in
London which captures the attention of younger generations.
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Antibiotic Action has become the first port of call for media in the UK and abroad for relevant news.
When David Cameron’s first Antimicrobial Resistance Commission report was published, Antibiotic
Action was quoted on the first page. We have also been quoted in various other media such as The
Times, CNN World, and CNN New York. Professor Piddock was also interviewed on numerous
television and radio channels in response to their May report “Securing new drugs for future
generations – the pipeline of antibiotics”.
Informing Policy

The Antibiotic Action Petition launched in October 2011 allowed individuals and representatives
(over 12,500) of global organizations to support the need for effective antibiotics and brought to the
attention of governments worldwide the need to discover, develop and bring to market antibiotics
for all who need them. The petition won an early day motion and received cross-party support in the
UK.
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Antibiotic Action has stimulated UK politicians by establishing and acting as secretariat to the
Antibiotic Action All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), which meets quarterly and provides an
important platform from which to brief and engage parliamentarians and wider audiences about
what can be done to preserve our antibiotics.
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Antibiotic Action has published a report for the APPG reviewing all funding within the UK to
bacteriology and antibiotic research, which helped to influence the recent increase in funding for
antimicrobial research. Reports are also published regularly in Science and Parliament, which is
available to all parliamentarians.
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Antibiotic Action is working directly with the UK Department of Health, National Health Services
(NHS), Public Health England, and bodies such as the Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial
Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections to support delivery of the UK Antimicrobial
Resistance 5 Year Strategy, published in 2013. They are also collaborating with David Cameron’s
Antimicrobial Resistance Commission, often referred to as the O’Neill Commission, chaired by Jim
O’Neill.

Antibiotic Action completed a review of previous UK-based antibiotic resistance reports and
recommendations and identified key barriers to implementing these recommendations in the UK.
This review is being used to assist the Department of Health in addressing these barriers so that they
can work towards minimizing the spread of antibiotic resistance.
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Antibiotic Action has facilitated collaboration among experts in the field. They have organized
meetings between the All Party Parliamentary Group and experts from academia and industry. They
have also hosted roundtable discussions to explore how to stimulate public and private partnerships
to incentivise research and development of new antibiotics and how to promote stewardship.
International Collaboration

Antibiotic Action is continuing to work with the World Health Organization (WHO) and a wide range
of other organizations to examine how Antibiotic Action can assist in the delivery of the WHO 5 year
strategy on antimicrobial resistance.

Antibiotic Action is collaborating with an international public-private partnership project funded by
the Innovative Medicines Initiative. The project, called DRIVE-AB, aims to incentivise research and
development of antimicrobials while safeguarding the efficacy of existing therapies.
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Antibiotic Action has established collaborations world-wide, working with others including ReACT,
APUA, WAAAR, and ESCMID among others, to raise awareness of the antibiotic resistance crisis.
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Antibiotic Action has recruited and supported members of the public worldwide in raising awareness
about the resistance crisis and gathering support through Antibiotic Action Champions, who are
supplied with resources to spread locally relevant messaging about the importance of slowing the
spread of antibiotic resistance.