This month, we are launching the AMR Innovation Programme, inviting innovators from the UK and Middle East to apply for dedicated support to fast-track their AMR solution into the health sector. Ahead of the launch at Global Health, we spoke with Programme Partners Rami Rajab, CEO, and Inna Nadelwais, Executive Director, at Mecomed, to find out more about the trade organisation and their part in the programme.
Tell us about Mecomed
Rami: Mecomed is the medical devices, imaging, and diagnostics trade association for the Middle East & Africa. We were established 16 years ago as four companies and now we have over 50 companies involved. We aim to bring together relevant stakeholders, including payers, providers, patients groups, and biotech and when and where needed we cooperate with pharma, to be the one voice of the industry.
We want to positively influence the healthcare ecosystem by partnering with various stakeholders including governments, payers, providers to facilitate access of the latest medical solutions and to help in building local capacities. Our raison d’etre is compliance and we established a code of conduct that is mandatory for any company to join, to maintain transparent collaboration between industry and healthcare professionals.
Inna: Our aim is to improve patient and clinician access to modern, innovative and reliable medical technology. We ensure that everything we do has the patient at the heart.
Why is tackling Antimicrobial Resistance important to you?
Inna: We align with the World Health Organisation in that AMR is one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity. We rely on antimicrobial medicines to treat many common diseases and surgeries and as resistance continues to increase, more people will suffer. The pipeline for new antibiotics is limited, which is partly due to how new drug development is funded. We hope that medical devices will contribute to solving this problem, by looking at the issue with innovative solutions, not just in terms of new antimicrobials but by prevention of the infection and awareness.
Rami: AMR is underreported as it doesn’t often feature as the cause of losing some patients, yet it is a factor in millions of avoidable deaths. In the medical device landscape, AMR is a key influencer on where budgets are spent and the outcomes of patients. It would benefit patients and systems if there was a bigger focus on tackling it. AMR is hindering our efforts to progress with transformational medicine.
What are you hoping to achieve with the programme?
Rami: Part of good citizenship in our industry is contributing in helping improve patient health and alleviate their suffering. Ultimately, we want to tackle AMR to prevent it taking more lives, and we can do this by helping the best innovators to get market-ready. But this is also about education and awareness to bring more funding into this area. We work with authorities and other stakeholders and through awareness and education, we want to show the benefits of early prevention, diagnostics, and infection management innovative tools.
What innovations are you looking for?
Inna: There are lots of tools that can help; from prevention, to diagnosis, to management, and cure. It’s been interesting to see tools that help prevent infection through sterilisation methods and there are new, much faster methods being used in wound care and diabetes. Rapid tests that don’t rely on growing bacteria or pathogens in a petri dish can be life-changing for a patient.
Rami: I am particularly excited by the power of in vitro diagnostics as it means we can diagnose in a much faster way. We can see how sick a patient is and why they are sick, with a result on the spot. Early detection is key and keeping patients out of hospitals, unless they need an intervention, using remote monitoring systems. Digital health being a part of the solution.
What support are you offering companies?
Rami: Innovators will get access to our years of experience in the medtech sector, including deep knowledge of regulatory affairs, compliance, and market access. We can not only guide them and ensure they meet the right regulations, but we have the platform to share their innovations. Raising awareness of what is possible is important.
Inna: We also approach this by focusing on value-based healthcare, considering care a long-term priority, from early diagnosis to often years after treatment. Medical devices can accelerate the shift away from low-cost care to value-based, high-quality care by placing value on improved patient outcomes and reduced total cost of care. We will work with innovators to proactively engage the right stakeholders including clinicians, policymakers, and regulators, to create greater alignment on different dimensions of value, particularly in relation to AMR that has a significant burden on patients and healthcare.
Rami: The big picture is that we want to help patients have a better outcomes and quality of life. We will work with companies addressing both prevention and cure solutions and connect them with the appropriate stakeholders to ensure a greater awareness and yes helping get the best solutions to AMR are getting to patients.
Why are the Middle East and UK innovators key to addressing this issue?
Rami: There are many existing partnerships between the UK and Middle East, particularly in research and clinical work. We want to take advantage of this longstanding history of innovation and work with Healthcare Innovation Consortium to accelerate work in this area.
We have a young population that is growing very fast and an ageing population that is also growing fast. They are susceptible to diseases that make them vulnerable to AMR, such as diabetes and other NCDs. Our duty is to facilitate the introduction of solutions and education. If we put our heads together, we can find a solution.
Find out more information about the programme here.