Brussels, 26/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 26 February, the European Commission announced the launch of a prize of €1 million to the person or team that develops a rapid test to tell whether a patient needs to be treated with antibiotics or not. The aim is to stop the overuse of antibiotics and halt the growing antimicrobial resistance that every year causes 25,000 deaths and over €1.5 billion in healthcare expenses and productivity losses in Europe alone.
On the same date, the Commission also published a progress report on its five-year Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), summarising the progress made under each of the 12 actions. This report also mentions the positive repercussions of two European Union-financed projects: ARNA, a study to identify the drivers behind the attainment of antibiotics without a prescription and the ARPEC project aiming to improve the quality of antibiotic prescribing for children. The Commission also points out that in September 2014, new legislative proposals were adopted on veterinary medicines and medicated feed that will help fight against the threat of AMR in the EU more effectively and encourage innovation in these areas (see EUROPE 11152). The report published by the Commission concludes that there is a need to continue the fight against AMR beyond 2016. (Isabelle Lamberty)