Leveraging Data, Innovation to Combat the ‘Silent Pandemic’

Technology can and should be a force for good in the world. The last couple of years in particular have underscored the importance of innovation and ingenuity across the healthcare industry as scientists, first responders and medical professionals have worked tirelessly to combat the spread of COVID-19 across the globe.

What many may not realize, however, is that there is another growing global concern that needs urgent attention at the same time. This public health threat, which some call a “silent pandemic,” is known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines and antimicrobials (think penicillin, an antibiotic or fluconazole, an antifungal medication), making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread and severe illness on a global scale.

Health professionals are increasingly concerned about this threat. In fact, a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that during the first year of the pandemic, the problem of drug resistance only intensified. What’s more, resistant bacterial infections alone are associated with nearly 5 million deaths a year, and more than 1.2 million deaths are directly attributed to AMR. According to NYU Langone Health, common antibiotic-resistant pathogens include Staphylococcus aureus, a pathogen that can cause an infection when bacteria enters a wound, and Streptococcus pneumoniae, a bacteria that cause many types of illnesses like pneumonia.

Many of these concerns are what prompted Vivli, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing human health through clinical research data sharing, to tap longtime partner Insight for support launching its Antimicrobial Resistance Register. Vivli’s AMR Register is a revolutionary, global platform allowing biopharmaceutical companies to share susceptibility data on infection-causing pathogens. The platform is leveraging data from some of the top names in the pharma and biotech industries, including Pfizer, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Paratek Pharmaceuticals and Venatorx Pharmaceuticals.

Specifically, the platform harnesses data-sharing capabilities and allows scientists to detect trends in multi-drug resistance through analysis and trend modelling ultimately hoping to catalyze innovation around new antimicrobial drugs. This platform demonstrates the ways in which technology — particularly AI and analytics — is hugely important in protecting the health of individuals around the world.

The platform we’ve helped Vivli build achieves this by:

· Harnessing Data Sharing Capabilities: There is an urgent need for organizations to conduct research to prevent AMR, so the open exchange of data is critical. However, the network of researchers and data contributors working on these projects comes from a multitude of organizations of varying size, target area and government-affiliation — from biopharmaceutical organizations to multi-lateral organizations like BARDA, WHO and the CDC. Transparency is key.

At the same time, data collection and sampling can be impacted by implicit biases, which can skew the conclusions researchers are able to make and therefore harm the efficacy of treatments. Access to high-quality industry surveillance datasets in this unified platform can help researchers, governments and healthcare professionals understand the spread and impact of drug-resistant infections on human health.

· Detecting Trends Through Analysis and Trend Modeling: Understanding health patterns through sound data management can arm medical professionals and researchers with the information they need to treat patient populations and keep people healthy. It’s also difficult to bring antibiotics to market, so it’s in everybody’s interest to have them work longer once they’re available.

Before the launch of the AMR platform, there was no easy way for researchers to access this raw data or combine and analyze multiple datasets from industry. However, now with robust, reliable industry data accessible in one place, scientists can better map key patterns of resistance and identify the emergence of new antibiotic resistant pathogens so they can better navigate — and anticipate — challenges ahead.

· Catalyzing Innovation: Antibiotics typically aren’t very expensive (they’ve been mainstream for years) and the budget for pharma is often small as it relates to antibiotic R&D. Because of this, the research insights from the AMR platform are critical for informing decision-making around the use of antimicrobials and having the potential to shape policies aimed at halting the spread of resistant pathogens. Ultimately, global data mechanisms can help spur innovation that can tackle drug-resistant bacteria and develop effective tools for the prevention and adequate treatment of drug-resistant infections.

At the end of the day, society’s biggest challenges need bold, ambitious solutions, and this is no exception when it comes to public health. Coordinated action is only possible when stakeholders across various sectors have a seat at the table and are empowered to work together.

Through partnerships like Vivli, Insight firmly believes that smart technology is integral in driving modern medicine forward.

For more information on Vivli’s AMR Register, visit amr.vivli.org.