Global Coalition On Alongside the G7 and the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, the policy environment is ripe for urgent action on AMR from super-aging Japan.
New York, NEW YORK (December 13, 2022) – The Global Coalition on Aging today announced the release of its roundtable report, “AMR & Japan’s G7 Presidency: A Call for Pull Incentives to Drive Innovation.” The report is based on a small, private roundtable of leaders from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Sweden, alongside Japanese decision-makers and experts.
“Japan has already importantly driven push incentives; now it must implement trial pull incentives at this important moment for the country,” said Michael Hodin, CEO of the Global Coalition on Aging. “Japan has the opportunity to lead the globe in combatting AMR, helping to realize healthy aging for all as part of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing.”
AMR is a crisis for all of society, but older adults are most at risk, making AMR a critical priority for super-aging Japan, where close to 40% of the population is over 60. Experts at the roundtable identified four critical actions that Japan must take to urgently address AMR as Japan assumes the 2023 G7 Presidency.
- Implement a pilot pull incentive to stimulate antibiotic innovation based on best-fit model for Japan, building on the experiences provided by the UK subscription pilot and the U.S. PASTEUR Act.
- Build policy guidance on AMR into the Health and Finance Ministers’ meetings and communiques.
- Communicate the urgency for AMR policy action through Japan’s G7 Presidency at the Summit level, which will underscore the Health and Finance support for G7 AMR actions.
- Invite collaboration and partnership with other countries, both those already leading on AMR action and those seeking inspiration and guidance.
“We must change how we pay for antibiotics. Most new antibiotics are classified as ‘reserve’ by the WHO, which is the right answer for public health, but companies are going bankrupt without anyone using their drug. We should pay for the protective value of antibiotics,” said Kevin Outterson, Executive Director and Principal Investigator, CARB-X. “To compare it to a fire extinguisher, we pay when the extinguisher is installed behind glass, not when we break the glass to put out a fire.”
This is a critical opportunity for Japan’s leadership on the global stage. Following Japan’s G7 leadership, the next High-level Meeting on AMR at the UN General Assembly will take place in September 2024, making Japan uniquely well positioned to both dictate policy priorities and direct political attention ahead of the meeting.
About the Global Coalition on Aging
The Global Coalition on Aging aims to reshape how global leaders approach and prepare for the 21st century’s profound shift in population aging. GCOA uniquely brings together global corporations across industry sectors with common strategic interests in aging populations, a comprehensive and systemic understanding of aging, and an optimistic view of its impact. Through research, public policy analysis, advocacy, and strategic communications, GCOA is advancing innovative solutions and working to ensure global aging is a path for fiscally sustainable economic growth, social value creation and wealth enhancement.