Vaccines and monoclonal antibodies could help fight AMR. The PRIMAVERA project will develop models to help identify which ones should be prioritised for development
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to human and animal health worldwide. Vaccines and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs, laboratory-made antibodies similar to those your body makes in response to an infection) could play a kay role in the fight against AMR. Developing vaccines and mAbs is costly and time-consuming, and so choices need to be made on which vaccines / mAbs should be prioritised for development. However, there are many drug-resistant infections and potential vaccines and mAbs out there, and right now it is very difficult to determine which vaccines / mAbs would have the greatest impact on the burden of AMR and which would only have a limited impact.
The aim of PRIMAVERA is to develop mathematical models and an epidemiological repository that will facilitate the assessment of different vaccines and mAbs in terms of their likely impact on AMR.
PRIMAVERA will set up an open access, web-based platform that will allow the wider scientific and healthcare communities to freely access and use the models and repository. For example, policy makers and healthcare authorities could use the platform to make informed decisions on which vaccines and mAbs should be prioritised. A project sustainability plan will ensure long-term access to the project results, including the models, once the project has finished.
‘With so many pathogens and infections driving AMR there is a potentially infinite combination of vaccines and mAbs to be developed. As resources are limited, this project will hopefully provide a critical tool to decide which vaccines and monoclonals should be prioritised,' says Dr Venanzio Vella of GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, industry leader of PrIMAVeRa.
‘This is the first multidisciplinary public-private partnership to combine the potentials of mathematical modelling and antibacterial vaccines to fight antimicrobial resistance,’ says Professor Marc Bonten of the University Medical Center Utrecht (Netherlands), scientific coordinator of PRIMAVERA.
PRIMAVERA will run for 5 years and has a total budget of €9 250 000. It is part of the AMR Accelerator Programme.
Find out more
Read the press release on the launch of the project