Industry and Government Bodies Gather for Crucial Updates into Antibiotic Resistance in Just 3 Weeks

ISELIN, N.J. - Oct. 25, 2016 - PRLog -- Just 3 weeks remain until SMi Group open its doors to host Superbugs & Superdrugs USA, the American instalment of its long running European conference.

Following on from 18 years of expertise in pushing industry collaboration and knowledge to promote antibiotic drug discovery, the Superbugs & Superdrugs event will travel across the Atlantic for the first time to gather an audience of senior industry experts and leading government bodies to tackle the critical threat of antibiotic resistance.

Featured speakers include:

Dr Pilar Ramon-Pardo, Advisor on Clinical Management of Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance, PAHO/WHO
Dr Christopher Houchens, Branch Chief, Antibacterials Program, BARDA
Dr Rosemarie Aurigemma, Chief, Biodefense Drug Development Section, DMID, NIAID, NIH
Dr John Rex, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Infection Business Unit, AstraZeneca
Dr Annaliesa Anderson, Vice President and CSO Bacterial Vaccines, Pfizer
Dr Anthony Simon Lynch, Senior Scientific Director, Janssen Research & Development LLC
Dr Mahesh Kumar, Vice President, Global Biological Research and Development, Zoetis
David Cook, Chief Scientific Officer , Blueberry Therapeutics Ltd

5 agenda highlights will consist of:

1. HOST NATION KEYNOTES: The agenda will evaluate current progress in the development of the US National Action Plan through host nation keynotes presented by leading government bodies including PAHO/WHO, NIH and BARDA. Highlights include updates into PPP investment opportunities and results following the first of year of the US Government "CARB Initiative".

Christopher Houchens, Branch Chief of BARDA's  Antibacterials Program, said:

"BARDA and its interagency partners, specifically the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) in particular, have demonstrated success in providing direct support to developers of promising products capable of addressing the global threat of AMR that may have otherwise never been developed without support."

2. TALKS ON DRUG DISCOVERY: Attendees will be encouraged to develop clinical assets through strategic partnerships and will receive progressive insight on innovative developments in big pharma. Topics will include the discovery of new pathways, the microbial metagenomics approach, and zoonotic links between animals and humans to target emerging infectious diseases.

Dr Anthony Simon Lynch, Senior Scientific Director from Janssen Research & Development LLC commented:

"Sessions focused on novel platforms and agents in the treatment and prevention of diseases caused by so-called 'Superbugs' are all of interest as they cover a broad spectrum of alternate approaches and it's always good to be cognizant of new science and potential opportunities."

Dr Annaliesa Anderson, Vice President and CSO Bacterial Vaccines from Pfizer said:

"Pfizer believes that a mix of economic incentives, coupled with regulatory reforms specifically focused on antibiotics and vaccines for drug resistant strains and emerging infectious diseases, can successfully incentivize new R&D."

3. DIRECTION ON STRENGTHENING THE ANTIBIOTIC PIPELINE: The programme will include presentations on restoring antibiotic sensitivity in multi-drug resistance infections with talks on targeting mechanisms, novel approaches in treating gram-negative infections, combination therapy, and protein based biologics as adjuncts to existing therapies.

David Cook, Chief Scientific Officer from Blueberry Therapeutics, singled out this session as being one of particular interest:

"I'm looking forward to the section on "Strengthening the Pipeline" and hearing about the other work going on in developing beta-lactamase inhibitors."

4. A LOOK AT ANIMAL MODELS: The first of two interactive workshops will be hosted by the UNT Health Science Centre and will offer in-depth discussions on animal models in antibiotic drug discovery. The session will cover topics on regulation, proof of concept studies and analyse supportive data.

5. REGULATORY GUIDANCE: The second workshop will determine PK/PD targets for optimising dosage requirements for new antibacterials with regulatory recommendations from the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NIAID) .

Further information including a detailed program and full speaker line-up is available online. Registration to attend can be made at http://www.smi-online.co.uk/pharmaceuticals/northamerica/...

A series of interviews with keynote speakers is also available to read in the event download centre at http://www.smi-online.co.uk/2016superbugsusa.asp#tab_downloads

Superbugs & Superdrugs USA 2016
Conference: Nov 14 – 15
Interactive workshops: Nov 16
Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel, Iselin, New Jersey

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Contact Information:

For all media enquiries contact Teri Arri on Tel: +44 (0)20 7827 6162 / Email: tarri@smi-online.co.uk
To register for the conference, visit http://www.smi-online.co.uk/pharmaceuticals/northamerica/superbugs-superdrugs-usa or contact Matthew Apps on Tel: +44 (0)20 7827 6093 / Email: mapps@smi-online.co.uk
To sponsor, speak or exhibit at the conference, contact Alia Malick on Tel: +44 (0)20 7827 6168 / Email: amalick@smi-online.co.uk

About SMi Group:

Established since 1993, the SMi Group is a global event-production company that specializes in Business-to-Business Conferences, Workshops, Masterclasses and online Communities. We create and deliver events in the Defence, Security, Energy, Utilities, Finance and Pharmaceutical industries. We pride ourselves on having access to the world's most forward thinking opinion leaders and visionaries, allowing us to bring our communities together to Learn, Engage, Share and Network. More information can be found at http://www.smi-online.co.uk