Examples of member companies' efforts

While the number of drug-resistant bacteria is increasing worldwide due to inappropriate use of antimicrobial agents, the development of new antimicrobial agents is on the decline, which is a major challenge for the international community. This page introduces the "promotion of appropriate use of antimicrobial agents" and "development of antimicrobial agents" being undertaken by member companies.

Initiatives to Promote Appropriate Use of Antimicrobial Agents

Kyorin Pharmaceutical

In the area of awareness-raising and education on AMR countermeasures, KYORIN Pharmaceutical has been working with physicians and pharmacists in the target disease areas, as well as with clinical laboratory technicians, to promote the proper use of antimicrobial agents and to contribute to medical professionals. In the area of AMR awareness and education, we continue to provide information to the Infection Control Team (ICT), which includes physicians, pharmacists, and clinical laboratory technicians, and the Antimicrobial Substance Use Support Team (AST) in the target disease areas. In the area of trend surveys and surveillance, we cooperate with surveys of drug-resistant bacteria and academic society surveillance projects, etc. In the area of proper use of antimicrobial agents, we promote activities to spread awareness of the proper use of antimicrobial agents through cooperation and support for infectious disease-related academic societies and research groups. In addition, we are building an infection-related business model of "prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases," providing comprehensive information on infectious diseases and infection control, and proposing solutions to problems. Since 2013, Kyorin has also been providing the iPac Letter, a quarterly publication for young healthcare professionals on all topics related to infectious diseases, with the aim of promoting understanding of healthcare-associated infections and measures to deal with them.
The Kyorin Group is also working to build an infection-related business model of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. In addition to establishing a cross-group sales structure, Kyorin is promoting contributions to healthcare professionals through proactive initiatives for the appropriate use of drugs to address the international AMR problem.

Shionogi

Shionogi believes that it is essential to disseminate correct knowledge and education on infectious diseases, including AMR, and infection prevention and control, etc. In 2019, in order to protect children from the threat of infectious diseases, Shionogi will collaborate with NGOs to convey the importance of prevention at hand washing classes for elementary school students, and will also widely promote public awareness through "Kodomo Infectious Disease Navigator (Web)" (in Japanese only). In addition, we have been promoting awareness of infectious diseases to the general public through the "Children's Infectious Disease Navigator (Web)".
In addition, Sumitomo Pharma is working on measures to prevent infectious diseases at mass gatherings, such as major international events, which have been the focus of attention in recent years, by holding public awareness seminars in collaboration with industry, government, and academia, as well as promoting public awareness through the "Mass Gathering Infectious Disease Navi (Web)".

Sumitomo Pharma

As one of its global health activities, Sumitomo Pharma is working on AMR control and promotion of appropriate use of antimicrobial agents, which are social issues that should be addressed internationally.
In Vietnam, where antimicrobial resistance is the most serious and major social issue in the Southeast Asian region, we have been conducting a drug susceptibility surveillance study since June 2019 in collaboration with the National Center for Global Medical Research (NCGM) and 10 major local hospitals in cooperation with the Ministry of Health of the Vietnamese government. This study is a prospective survey study of the resistance rates to major antimicrobial agents among Gram-negative rods, which are serious drug-resistant organisms among the local causative agents of severe and refractory infections. Based on the results of this study, we aim to realize appropriate antimicrobial prescribing and use as well as nosocomial infection control.
In October 2020, KYORIN Pharmaceutical joined the WELCO Lab for Global Health, an initiative of Japanese companies aiming to solve issues in the field of global health, and has issued its commitment to AMR control and the appropriate use of antimicrobial agents.

Antimicrobial Drug Development Initiatives

Kyorin Pharmaceutical

KYORIN Pharmaceutical is currently collaborating with the Research Institute for Microbial Chemistry of the Japan Society for Microbial Chemistry to create antimicrobial agents effective against multidrug-resistant bacteria, and will continue to do so in the future.

Shionogi

We have set "protecting the world from the threat of infectious diseases" as one of our key tasks to create new value for our customers and society, and are working to create new drugs for infectious diseases for which no treatment methods have yet been established. Many of the strains of bacteria that should be given the highest priority are resistant to carbapenems, and the world is in need of drugs that can deal with these strains. Cefidelocor, Shionogi's drug candidate for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections, is expected to be a valuable drug that can address the three carbapenem-resistant strains that the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified as urgent and serious, and was approved in the United States in November 2019 and in Europe in April 2020. Shionogi will continue to work with companies around the world to develop and commercialize new drugs. Shionogi will continue to make every effort to address AMR-related issues around the world.

Sumitomo Pharma

Since 2017, Shionogi has been collaborating with the drug discovery group of Professor Satoshi Omura, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Kitasato University, with the aim of discovering a treatment for drug-resistant bacterial infections. This joint research is scheduled to last for 10 years starting in October 2017, and has been adopted as an R&D project under the "Cyclic Innovation for Clinical Empowerment (CiCLE)" program of the National Institutes for Medical Research and Development (AMED). Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma has been selected for the project.
DSP aims to contribute to global health by accelerating drug discovery research in the field of infectious diseases through joint research with academia and other organizations.

Daiichi Sankyo

In 2019, Daiichi Sankyo signed an agreement to participate in the AMR Screening Consortium led by the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership ("GARDP"). Daiichi Sankyo is the third Japanese company to participate in this consortium, which aims to obtain new compounds with antimicrobial activity using each company's compound library.
In 2019, Daiichi Sankyo transferred 110,000 clinical isolates of levofloxacin, a synthetic antibacterial drug discovered by Daiichi Sankyo and accumulated through drug susceptibility studies, to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases free of charge. This transfer is expected to be widely utilized for research at the Center for Drug Resistance Research at the institute.
In April 2021, in addition to its existing vaccine development efforts, Daiichi Sankyo established the "Special Team for Research on Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (EReDS)" to stimulate research and development of therapeutic agents for infectious diseases. In April, in addition to our existing vaccine development efforts, we established the "Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases Research Special Team (EReDS)" and started its activities to stimulate research and development of drugs for infectious diseases.

Fujifilm Toyama Chemical

With the current increase in the number of drug-resistant bacteria worldwide, we believe that the development of new antibacterial agents that can combat resistant bacteria is an important issue, and we are working on the development of a new fluoroketolide antibacterial agent, T-4288 (generic name: solithromycin). This is a new fluoroketolide antibacterial agent that shows strong antibacterial activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which are resistant to macrolide antibacterial agents. FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical obtained the exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and market T-4288 in Japan from Cempra, Inc. (now Tetard, Inc.) in 2013, and has been conducting clinical trials. The development of the drug for the treatment of patients with respiratory tract infections is ongoing.

Meiji Seika Pharma

Drug resistance (AMR) is now an important issue to be addressed on a global scale, and in Japan, the promotion of research and development of new preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic methods against infectious diseases caused by drug-resistant bacteria is also being advocated. Against this backdrop, "OP0595," a novel β-lactamase inhibitor developed by the Meiji Group, has been selected for a national project (Creation of Innovative Infrastructure for Medical Research and Development - CiCLE), which aims for innovation in research and drug discovery through industry-academia-government collaboration. OP0595" is expected to provide an effective treatment for multidrug-resistant bacteria, as it has features not found in conventional β-lactamase inhibitors. Clinical development of OP0595 has already started in Japan, and research and development with an eye to overseas markets is also being vigorously pursued.

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