iDX: An exploration of regulatory, corporate, relational, and technical barriers to uptake of diagnostics in the fight against AMR

Description

Greater availability of fast and accurate diagnostics for infections would greatly reduce the over-prescription of antibiotics and slow the growth of antibiotic resistance which limits treatment options. It would also help prescribe the right drug at the right time, thus reducing suffering and increasing survival. However, despite advances in technology, few useful diagnostics for bacterial infections have come to market and we are seeing a downward trend in innovation. This study proposes to identify the key barriers to supply, transfer, and use of diagnostics, looking at recent technological advances that ultimately failed to be authorized or adopted, or to change prescribing. It will also look at technologies that helped in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Lessons from the failures and few successes will be used to assess chances for products in the pipeline, examining how regulation, reimbursement, technology transfer, and take-up might be improved to make them succeed within the clinical setting. The project will moreover examine the technical characteristics of technologies most likely to help tackle AMR in the sub-Sahara through a review of applicable technologies and focused case studies in South Africa