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A rise in the spread of new diseases, such as Ebola, and the resurgence of diseases that were once considered under control, like malaria, have captured the world’s attention and raised awareness of the risks of infectious disease.

Add to this the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance caused by the use and misuse of antimicrobials over the past 70 years, and it is clear that there is an urgent need for the development of new diagnostics and medicines that address the way critical infections are diagnosed and treated.

The WHO has been raising the ‘threat level’ on this issue progressively each year for the last decade, with individual disease reports highlighting the emerging threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This year’s report however highlights this pandemic like never before, demonstrating it’s global nature and its profound impact on health and economics. I’m a cardiologist and the report speaks to me – actually it screams out loud: “We need to get our act together”.

I overheard a debate at a breakfast meeting at the World Economic Forum Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, China that went like this:

“The market won’t accept a malaria vaccine that costs more than $.40 a dose.”

“But that’s not possible, why can’t we just start solving the technical problem and then figure out how to pay for it?”

One central theme revolved around the Second World Health Organisation’s Global Forum on Medical Devices – the WHO recognises medical devices as an investment and not a cost. However, there is a mismatch between innovation of medical devices and public health needs.  677 participants from 108 countries took their pick from 28 workshops and 4 plenary sessions. Held on November 22-24^th in Geneva, the event enabled academia, international organisations, industry and NGOs to gain insight from 159 presentations, 144 posters (one of which was presented by EDMA on Lab Tests Online), and 8 films. 

Infectious diseases remain a source of concern in the EU due to the emergence of new resistance to anti-infective drugs. The EU is supporting the deployment of innovative solutions in low resource settings in the world with the aim to help the local populations avoid the emergence of new resistance that can spread across borders.