Collaborating to Address Antimicrobial Resistance at Viatris
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant global health challenge impacting millions of people around the world and with the potential to lead to even greater disruptions to care if not addressed. AMR threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi.
Viatris takes a multi-pronged approach to actively engage in addressing AMR, both by providing access through our portfolio of more than 90 antimicrobials and in partnership with others, including as a founding member and active board member of the AMR Industry Alliance (AMRIA).
In 2024, the UN General Assembly convened a high-level meeting among heads of state to secure the highest level of political commitment to address AMR globally through the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Political Declaration on AMR. Contributing to these ongoing political discussions, global news organization Foreign Policy, Viatris and other stakeholders co-hosted the “A World Without Antibiotics – Confronting the Global AMR Challenge” simulation. This meeting convened leaders and experts from government, industry and civil society to work through a simulation exploring solutions to avert the potentially devastating outcomes of unchecked AMR. During the event, Viatris and AMRIA
called on member states to ensure universal, equitable, affordable and sustainable access to quality assured appropriate antibiotics and diagnostics as well as to prevent and address the drivers, sources and challenges of the environmental dimensions of AMR.
As the co-chair of the AMRIA Access working group, Viatris led the development of the AMRIA Equitable and Responsible Access Roadmap, published in February 2024, through a consultative and evidence-based process. The roadmap is a global policy tool focusing on increasing global access of people to appropriate and high-quality antibiotics. It highlights key barriers to diagnostics and antimicrobial access and outlines solutions to tackle the global barriers of regulatory issues, demand forecasting and procurement challenges.
Promoting a Scalable Model in the Fight Against AMR
In 2024, Viatris collaborated with BBC Storyworks to raise awareness about PLATINEA (PLATform for INnovation of Existing Antibiotics), a unique multi-stakeholder collaboration in Sweden that includes academia, healthcare, public health authorities, public payers and regulators and the pharmaceutical industry to find solutions to AMR. The campaign highlighted the PLATINEA model beyond Sweden, sparking discussions within and beyond the policy and medical communities about replicating this initiative in other regions and driving global momentum in the fight against AMR.
