2020 award recognizes CARB-X achievements in funding and innovative products targeting antibiotic-resistant bacteria

(BOSTON: December 8, 2020) – CARB-X has been awarded the 2020 Innovating for Impact Partnership Award by the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) for its work in accelerating R&D. The Award recognizes CARB-X’s progress in expanding the pipeline of innovative products that address one of the world’s most pressing public health crises, antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

“We are deeply honored that GHTC has chosen to recognize CARB-X with this Innovating for Impact award,” said Kevin Outterson, Executive Director of CARB-X. “This Award recognizes the outstanding vision and leadership of CARB-X’s funding partners, the dedication of the CARB-X team, and the innovative spirit and drive of scientists around the world who are developing products that target antibiotic-resistant bacteria.”

Since CARB-X was launched in 2016, it has supported the early development of 75 innovative antibiotics, vaccines, rapid diagnostics and other life-saving products in 10 countries around the world to address drug-resistant bacterial pathogens. CARB-X currently supports the world’s largest and most scientifically diverse early development antibacterial portfolio with 49 projects progressing.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is a bitter reminder of the need to be prepared for global public health crises. The antibiotic resistance challenge is very relevant to the struggle with COVID-19, as many COVID-19 patients succumb due to a secondary bacterial infection not treatable with our current antibiotic products.” Outterson said.

Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections kill an estimated 700,000 people each year around the world, including 47,800 Americans who die from bacterial infections that cannot be treated, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Click here to view the GHTC announcement.
Click here to see a 2-minute video about the CARB-X partnership.

The global CARB-X partnership

CARB-X funders have committed $480 million in 2016-22 to accelerate the development of products to address drug-resistant bacteria, often referred to as ‘superbugs’ because of their ability to resist the effects of antibiotics. CARB-X expects to announce new awards in the coming weeks. CARB-X, which stands for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator, is led by Boston University and funding is provided by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) in the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Wellcome Trust, a global charity based in the UK working to improve health globally, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the UK Department of Health and Social Care’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and with in-kind support from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

2020 GHTC award

The Partnership Award honors an “innovative research and development (R&D) partnership that brings together multisector partners to advance a high-impact, game-changing global health technology. The partnership must have received federally funded research support or in-kind support from a US government agency.”

In addition to the CARB-X award, GHTC also honored US Senator John Boozman (R-AR) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) for their leadership in supporting global health research and development (R&D). They each received a 2020 Congressional Champion Award, which celebrates the US policymakers driving global health innovation.

Jamie Bay Nishi, director of GHTC, said:  “US leadership in global health R&D has helped fuel tremendous progress in generating new cures and vaccines to fight the world’s deadliest health threats, and we’re so delighted to recognize the outstanding work of our honorees who are helping make this progress possible.”

Global health R&D is vital to conquering the world’s greatest health challenges and to building a safer, healthier world for all. Now in its fourth year, the Innovating for Impact Awards celebrates US commitment to global health R&D and honors the multisector partnerships and policymakers helping to transform breakthrough scientific research into lifesaving technologies for unmet global health challenges.

Learn more about GHTC’s Innovating for Impact Awards.

Supporting global health R&D

The GHTC is the premier advocacy organization focusing on global health R&D for new tools and technologies. Based in Washington, DC, USA, it is a coalition of more than 25 non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and aligned businesses advancing policies to accelerate the creation of new drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, and other tools that bring healthy lives within reach for all people. The coalition does not advocate for specific diseases or health areas. Rather, it supports policies to advance the goals of global health R&D across many disease and health areas.

CARB-X:
Jennifer Robinson
+1.514.914.8974
carbxpr@bu.edu

About CARB-X
Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) is a global non-profit partnership dedicated to accelerating early development antibacterial R&D to address the rising global threat of drug-resistant bacteria. CARB-X is led by Boston University and funding is provided by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) in the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Wellcome Trust, a global charity based in the UK working to improve health globally, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the UK Department of Health and Social Care’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and with in-kind support from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).  CARB-X is investing up to $480 million from 2016-2022 to support innovative antibiotics and other non-traditional therapeutics, vaccines and other prevention approaches including microbiome and phage, and rapid diagnostics. CARB-X supports the world’s largest and most innovative early stage pipeline of products against drug-resistant infections. CARB-X is headquartered at Boston University School of Law. carb-x.org/.  Follow us on Twitter @CARB_X.