Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance Through the Pandemic Instrument
Date: February 21, 2023
Time: 10:30-11:30 am EST
This moment provides an important opportunity for addressing the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
This month, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) – the entity established by the World Health Organization (WHO) to draft and negotiate a pandemic instrument – will meet to consider and negotiate the zero draft of the WHO international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. This webinar will contribute to discussions on the pandemic instrument and the opportunity to comprehensively address the full range of pandemic threats, including AMR. AMR already kills over 1 million people annually and contributes to millions more deaths around the world – a toll that is disproportionately borne by LMICs.
Join us for a discussion and exchange inspired by the forthcoming Symposium Issue of the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (JLME) on Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance through the Pandemic Instrument, guest edited by Kevin Outtersen (Boston University, CARB-X) and Global Strategy Lab’s Susan Rogers Van Katwyk and Steven J. Hoffman. The webinar will feature a roundtable format, a panel of researchers and experts on AMR policy and will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.
About the Moderator
Kevin Outterson, J.D., LL.M
Austin B Fletcher Professor, Boston University Executive Director & Principal Investigator, CARB-X
Professor Outterson teaches health care law at Boston University, where he co-directs the Health Law Program. He serves as the founding Executive Director and Principal Investigator for CARB-X, an >$800M international public-private partnership to accelerate global antibacterial innovation. Key partners in CARB-X include the US Government (BARDA & NIAID), the Wellcome Trust, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the UK Government (GAMRIF), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.Professor Outterson has published almost 100 articles and book chapters (available at Google Scholar) on health care law, with a focus on incentive problems with antimicrobial resistance, including push and pull incentives for antimicrobials. He served as a senior author on many key research reports and expert panels on antibiotic innovation. Professor Outterson was given the 2015 Leadership Award by the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics for his research and advocacy work. He has spoken before Congressional committees, Parliamentary working groups, WHO, and state legislatures.
About the Panelists
Professor Sabiha Essack, B. Pharm., M. Pharm., PhD
South African Research Chair (SARChI) in AMR and One Health
Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)
Sabiha Essack is the South African Research Chair (SARChI) in Antibiotic Resistance and One Health and Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). She is the Vice Chair of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Antimicrobial Resistance (STAG-AMR) and co-chair of the Quadripartite Technical Group on Integrated Surveillance. Professor Essack serves as the Senior Implementation Research Advisor to the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS) in Denmark, she is member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Joint Programming Initiative on AMR (JPIAMR) and member of the International Pharmacy Federation (FIP) AMR Commission. Professor Essack is chairperson of the Global Respiratory Infection Partnership (GRIP), she serves on the Advisory Board of the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X), the Fleming Fund Expert Advisory Group and is a member of the Wellcome Trust Surveillance and Epidemiology of Drug Resistant Infections Consortium (SEDRIC). Her research focuses on the molecular epidemiology of AMR using next generation sequencing and bioinformatics as well as One Health systems strengthening in the context of AMR.
Shajoe Lake, J.D., LL.M
International Legal Advisor, AMR Policy Accelerator at Global Strategy Lab
Shajoe Lake is an international health attorney, providing strategic advice on the design of evidence-informed strategies to address transnational health threats. Shajoe has significant experience advising governments and NGOs in the Caribbean and Latin America on non-communicable diseases law and policy, and previously counseled UK, US, and Caribbean insurers on health-related tortious liability cases.
Mirfin Mpundu
Director, ReACT Africa
Africa Regional Lead – International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance (ICARS)
Dr. Mirfin Mpundu is the Director for ReAct Africa. He has worked actively in supporting African countries with AMR NAP development and implementation and to other global initiatives on AMR. He has played a major role in several countries One Health agenda’s and supported the Tripartite, Africa CDC and Regional Economic Communities with AMR Strategic development and implementation among others. Further, he has played a role in creating a community of engagement in the region, a strong voice of the global south and a public health specialist with over 30 years extensive experience.
Dr. Susan Rogers Van Katwyk, PhD
Managing Director, AMR Policy Accelerator at Global Strategy Lab
Dr Susan Rogers Van Katwyk leverages her extensive experience in global AMR policy to oversee the development and implementation of the AMR Policy Accelerator’s program of work. She is an epidemiologist with significant experience engaging policymakers and mobilizing interdisciplinary teams to improve policy implementation, evaluation and decision making at national and international levels. Susan also holds leadership positions with the WHO Collaborating Centre on Global Governance of Antimicrobial Resistance and the International Network for AMR Social Science (INAMRSS).