Sandoz Expands Collaboration in Antimicrobial Resistance Fight

Sandoz recently expanded its strategic collaboration agreement with Ares Genetics (Ares) to drive cutting-edge digital solutions in the global fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). 

The collaboration extension reflects both companies’ recognition of the critical importance of surveillance data to inform better prescribing and use of antibiotics, which is a vital component of the global AMR response strategy.  

Under the collaboration, Ares developed a digital anti-infectives platform through established microbiology laboratory practices, advanced bioinformatics, and artificial intelligence (AI) methods. These technologies help identify effective antimicrobial compounds that address critical pathogens. 

Sandoz can then leverage those pathogens to drive portfolio and commercial decisions.  

Both companies will focus on antibiotic stewardship by enabling genomic surveillance for resistant pathogens using Ares’ next-generation sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatics technology in the upcoming phase.  

“This collaboration is a key step towards that goal, allowing us to take the fight directly to AMR by using cutting-edge big data and AI approaches combined with traditional data sets,” Richard Saynor, CEO of Sandoz, said in the announcement.  

“By combining our respective skill sets, we believe we can not only use diagnostic and surveillance data to help healthcare professionals make better diagnoses, but also expand our options to treat AMR in the future by targeted repurposing of key antibiotics. Our ultimate goal is both simple and radical: to ensure we get the right medicine to the right patient at the right time,” Saynor continued.  

AMR is one of the greatest threats to global public health because the emergence of bacterial species resistant to antimicrobial drugs makes it more difficult to treat infections and threatens the safety of surgery, chemotherapy, and other treatments, according to the World Health Organization.  

Additionally, a 2020 Pioneer Institute report found that patients use nearly 47 million antibiotic prescriptions unnecessarily each year. Of the 40 million individuals prescribed a course of antibiotics for respiratory illnesses annually in the US, just 13 million need them.  

In 2019, antimicrobial-resistant bacteria may have directly accounted for 1.27 million deaths and could result in nearly 10 million deaths annually by 2050.