Commission opens calls for proposals to tackle AMR

The European Commission has opened its call for research proposals for the €1m ‘Horizon Prize for Better Use of Antibiotics’.

The EU institution will accept proposals through to 17 August 2016 and the prize focuses on tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the unnecessary use of antibiotics. The Commission has set a challenge of developing a test to allow the healthcare industry to quickly determine whether a patient suffering with a common illness, such as a cold, bronchitis or sinus infection requires antibiotics for treatment.

The call sits under the Societal Challenges pillar and the prize will be awarded if a test can be constructed. The Commission is emphasising the need for a test that is cheap, easy-to-use and non or minimally invasive for patients to assess such upper respiratory tract infections.

According to the Commission, it is estimated that 25,000 people die each year due to AMR in Europe, in addition to costing over €1.5bn in healthcare expenses and productivity losses.