On a quest for transformative solutions against Antimicrobial Resistance
What is AMR?
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when microbes that can cause diseases become resistant to antimicrobials used in standard treatment protocols. Poor infection prevention and control measures have added to the burden of AMR, thus there is an urgent need to identify, develop and scale newer interventions and strategies which are aligned to the evolving nature of the pathogens, and data-driven prioritization of surveillance efforts. The spiraling rate at which AMR cases have increased in the past few years has made this a top global agenda, not just due to health security threats but also due to the impending severe economic consequences.
Interventions are urgently required across preventatives (vaccines), diagnostics and therapeutics (antibiotics/drugs) against AMR. Concerted efforts are needed to identify, validate and integrate these interventions to reduce the burden of AMR.
C-CAMP — The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms is one of India’s most exciting Life Science innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems with one of Asia’s strongest AMR innovation portfolios/networks.
Recognizing the need to build a robust pipeline for new approaches and treatments to prevent, detect and treat bacterial infections, C-CAMP has conceptualized and launched the C-CAMP AMR Quest 2023, a nation-wide search for transformative solutions against AMR.
The C-CAMP AMR Quest 2023 will be open from 22nd May to 15th June. Please apply here.
C-CAMP AMR Quest
The mandate of the C-CAMP AMR Quest, run jointly by C-CAMP and CARB-X, a global non-profit partnership led by Boston University dedicated to accelerating antibacterial research to tackle the global rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria, is to attract, identify, reward and foster innovators that are working towards the development of solutions to tackle antimicrobial resistance. The winning innovations are awarded with opportunities for mentoring by industry experts, networking, funding, showcasing and commercialization through the three-month C-CAMP AMR Accelerator program. Additionally, the innovators get the opportunity to present at prominent international conferences. This collectively opens up avenues for fast-tracking these innovations not just their go-to-market but also to scale up faster and contribute to reducing the threat of AMR globally. Past winners of the C-CAMP AMR Quest have gone on to set up their own enterprise and raised grant funding, post their time in the C-CAMP AMR Accelerator.
In this context, the first three editions of the AMR Quest focused on interventions across the domains of prevention, diagnostics and therapeutics.
These included those for broad spectrum of microbes as well as an emphasis on the ESKAPE Pathogens, a group of six highly virulent and antibiotic resistant bacteriae-Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp, that are the primary pathogens in hospital acquired infections (HAIs), and escape commonly used antibiotics.
Preventatives, including vaccines, preventative antibodies and fragments, and microbiome products, can potentially reduce the rate of disease morbidity in the population and the demand for antimicrobials. In diagnostics, the ability to reliably identify the infecting pathogen and its antibiotic susceptibility profile in the most time-efficient way can markedly impact guided treatment regimens and unnecessary use of antibiotics. Due to a lack of development of new drugs and a dry pipeline for antibiotics, it is imperative to explore other therapeutic options like direct acting small molecules, preferably target new targets on the pathogen. Non-traditional therapeutics that hold promise include the indirect acting small molecules (eg; potentiators, BLI combinations, etc), direct and indirect acting large molecules (eg; peptides, phage, microbiome and nucleic acid), and finally drug conjugates (ADC, other dual acting drug conjugates).
Pan-India Spectrum of Innovations for AMR
The C-CAMP AMR Quest has seen applications coming in from all parts of the country, with Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Telangana and Kerala leading in terms of number of applications received. Representation from states and Union Territories like Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Meghalaya has also gained traction.
The AMR Quest is open to anyone with an idea or technology, be they start-ups, SMEs large companies, innovators, researchers, scientists, post docs or academicians.
This enables entries with proven proof of concept on one end to nascent stage ideas on the other, and ensures visibility and exposure to promising solutions at different stages of the developmental pipeline.
Winning Innovations of the C-CAMP AMR Quest
The Winners of the C-CAMP AMR Quest are selected through multiple levels of screening by an expert Jury Panel from Government, industry, and academia to assess the scientific credibility of the proposed innovations. The most promising applications present at The Finale, presided over by the Grand Jury who are stalwarts in the AMR field. They are assessed for novelty and applicability of the solution, strength of validation data, commercialization potential, clarity in articulation, etc.
Twelve promising innovations were identified through the three editions of the C-CAMP AMR Quest. Ten of these were startups, whereas two were individual innovators.
In addition, 7 innovations received special mention by the Jury.
The C-CAMP AMR Quest 2023 will be open from 22nd May to 15th June. Please apply here.
C-CAMP AMR Accelerator
The C-CAMP AMR Quest has been a medium to reach the innovators and identify some of the most promising interventions in the domain. As a logical next step, the C-CAMP AMR Accelerator was conceived and actioned after recognizing the need for expert advice and mentoring for these innovations to reach their full potential. The winners of the AMR Quest are taken through a deep-dive 3 months Accelerator program that gives them the requisite mentorship from industry and academic experts on scientific aspects, regulatory affairs and IP laws, and at the same time enables them to fine tune their business strategy and fund-raising potential. This comprehensive value-addition enables fast-tracking the innovations towards commercialization.
This year, a new feature in the form of AMR Innovators School has been added to the 4th edition of C-CAMP AMR Quest. All selected participants will get direct entry to a week-long residential AMR school being organized at the C-CAMP campus. This will serve as an excellent opportunity for the AMR Quest winners to get a global perspective about the AMR innovation ecosystem. The School will enable a deep-dive into the need for innovations in the different domains of AMR, aside from being a platform for convergence of stakeholders in the field of innovations and AMR for catalyzing ideas and innovations.
Integrating Innovations for Impact
For these innovations to reach the market and deliver impact, several enabling factors have to be in place —
funding for antibiotic/AMR research, a clearly defined regulatory pathway, access and market-models that are financially viable, incentives for pharma companies, etc.
In conclusion, aligning with the broad mandate conferred by Global Action Plan (GAP) and the National Action Plan (NAP), enabling policies, and a strong collaborative network will be required to orchestrate the journey of innovations from idea-to-market so that the latest scientific advancements can contribute to successful AMR governance. The C-CAMP AMR Quest is one of the important platforms ensuring that a steady pipeline of at-the-ready AMR interventions exist when these fall in place.
Disclaimer: The blog is a compilation of information on a given topic that is drawn from credible sources; however, this does not claim to be an exhaustive document on the subject. It is not intended to be prescriptive, nor does it represent the opinion of C-CAMP or its partners. The blog is intended to encourage discussion on an important topic that may be of interest to the larger community and stakeholders in associated domains.
