Priority Medicines Antimicrobial Resistance

To help control Antimicrobial Resistance and to foster the development of new antimicrobials ZonMw opened up the research programme Priority Medicines Antimicrobial Resistance. ZonMw will fund basic and applied research over a period of nine years (2009-2018).

The programme’s focus is on antibacterial resistance, but research that concerns antimicrobial resistance in viruses or fungi is also considered for funding, to a limited extent.
In a programming study five research areas were identified:

1.The role of antimicrobial use in inducing and transmitting resistance
2.Mechanisms and targets for new drugs
3.New technologies, in particular rapid diagnostics
4.Optimising antimicrobial therapy: dosage and use
5.Innovative approaches in antimicrobial resistance prevention
The development of new drugs or vaccines has no place in the programme though the discovery of new points of action for drugs or vaccines, is clearly a part of this research programme. For all research areas the methodology of infectious disease modelling is considered of particular value. As a systematic and overarching approach to the control of infectious disease, it can help identify knowledge gaps and facilitate policy decision making. The Dutch Ministry of Health stressed the link between human and animal antimicrobial resistance, and emphasized the importance of the collaboration with The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the preparation of the research programme and beyond.