Swiss Round Table on Antibiotics

• The rise of AMR threatens to undermine modern medicine, leading to higher mortality rates, prolonged hospital stays and increased healthcare costs. AMR already kills more than one million people globally every year.
• The development of innovative antibiotics is crucial to staying ahead of AMR because bacteria continuously evolve, building resistance to existing products. This is a natural, inevitable process.
• This is why public interventions such as push and pull incentives are necessary to correct failing market dynamics and ensure that private investors and pharmaceutical companies step up again their investments in the development of much-needed healthcare products.

• 240909 Roles of push and pull incentives in addressing AMR_EN.pdf

Globally, and also in Switzerland, people die from infections that can no longer be treated with the currently available antibiotics. This happens when bacteria have adapted and become resistant to several antibiotics (multi-drug-resistance).

Despite the urgent need for new antibiotics several pharmaceutical companies have pulled out of their research and development, and SMEs are finding it extremely difficult to obtain funding for their antibiotic programmes. Other therapeutic areas such as oncology are much more lucrative.

We therefore propose annual lump-sum payments (a so-called subscription or Netflix model), regardless of the quantity of product sold. The amount of the lump sum should reflect the value of the antibiotic for public health and the benefit to patients and enable manufacturers to earn an appropriate return.

Two European countries have already conducted pilot trials and other countries are preparing to do so. We recommend doing the same in Switzerland.

You can download the White Paper here:

• English: https://doi.org/10.48350/194363
• German: https://doi.org/10.48350/192659
• French: http://doi.org/10.48350/194389
• Italian: http://doi.org/10.48350/194450

In this document the Round Table on Antibiotics examines the following three basic pull models that shall inform further discussion in Switzerland:

• The Subscription Model that ensures a certain revenue to the manufacturer of an authorized new antibiotic during a pre-defined post-launch time period,
• Transferable Exclusivity Extension Vouchers (TEEVs) which are proposed by the currently revised EU Pharmaceutical Legislation
• The High-Price model which foresees unit prices for new antibiotics that are higher than currently observed for this kind of drugs.

Each model is briefly introduced, oriented along the following questions with regards to a possible implementation to the Swiss healthcare system:

• What are the model's main characteristics, potential payers and beneficiaries?
• Who is involved in the decision-making?
• Where do we see advantages and challenges?

• 07-Feb-2023_Assessment of Pull Incentives for Consideration in Switzerland.pdf

The Roadmap to a Swiss Pull Incentive Scheme for Novel Antibiotics analyses the intentions and activities of the Swiss government with regard to the development of an economic framework that promotes the revival of development activities for new antibiotics. The Round Table on Antibiotics drafts a roadmap for Switzerland to select and implement an innovative incentive scheme in Switzerland.

• 221128 EN Swiss roadmap to pull incentive.pdf

• 221128 DE Roadmap für ein Schweizer Pull-Anreizsystem.pdf

• 221128 FR Feuille de route pour un modèle suisse d’incitations économiques de marché.pdf

• 221128 IT Strategia per un modello svizzero di incentivi di tipo pull.pdf

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Round Table on Antibiotics reminds us that the silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance is a threat that is at least as dangerous as the pandemic dominating the headlines. There are important parallels between the COVID-19 pandemic and the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. And the clock is ticking.

• 201112 212EN CALL FOR ACTION - RTA.pdf

• 201112 212DE CALL FOR ACTION - RTA.pdf

• 201112 212FR CALL FOR ACTION - RTA.pdf

• 201112 212IT CALL FOR ACTION - RTA.pdf

White paper of the core group of the Round Table on Antibiotics covering basic concepts for how pull incentives could be designed and implemented in Switzerland.

• 180810 105 Economic Considerations Antibiotika_EN.pdf

• 180810 105 Ökonomische Überlegungen zu Antibiotika.pdf

The Round Table on Antibiotics calls on the Federal Council to structure and strengthen the dialogue between the relevant federal offices, pharmaceutical industry, science and society to drive Switzerland’s contribution to innovation, research and development in the area of new active antibiotic substances.

The call by science and industry was the first public activity of the Round Table on Antibiotics and can be considered the cornerstone of all our activities and recommendations.

• 171108 Appell Antibiotikaentwicklung_EN.pdf

• 171108 Appell Antibiotikaentwicklung.pdf

• 171108 Appell Antibiotikaentwicklung_FR.pdf

• 171108 Appell Antibiotikaentwicklung_IT.pdf

AIMS
- To explore different pull incentive models and international experience.
- To propose a pull-incentive model to foster availability of new and existing antibiotics in Switzerland.

• 240306 103 RTA poster - The Swiss Round Table on Antibiotics, a multi-disciplinary initiative.pdf

231231 102 Annual Report RTA.pdf

221231 104 Annual Report RTA.pdf

211231 Yearly Report of the Round Table Antibiotics.pdf