Industry leaders to gather for antibiotic workshop
Representatives from animal health pharmaceutical companies, biotech development companies, universities, global animal health associations and government agencies will be part of the program at the March 17-18, 2016, workshop exploring incentives and disincentives for development of new antimicrobial drugs and alternatives to antibiotics for use in food animals.
The workshop, a collaboration of Farm Foundation, NFP, and USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS), will take place at the ERS offices at Patriots Plaza III, 355 E Street SW, Washington, D.C.
Keynoting the program on the morning of March 17 is Catherine Woteki, USDA Undersecretary for Research, Education and Economics. The complete agenda has details of speakers for each workshop session.
The rise of antibiotic resistance and the decline in the number of new antibiotics being developed has generated concern for the future of human medicine. Much less attention is being focused on similar concerns for food animal antibiotics. To understand how to incentivize research and development of new antimicrobial drugs and novel products requires consideration of several factors, including: the market for animal pharmaceuticals, how to bring a product to market, the regulatory protocols required to bring products to market, regulations on use of antibiotics in food production, and the overlap between human and animal antibiotic use and development.
The March 17-18 workshop will also explore
what types of interventions
might be used to incentivize research and development of new antimicrobial drugs and novel products for use in food animals. This workshop is
not intended to explore the chain of antimicrobial resistance from farm to fork, or
antibiotic stewardship practices in livestock production.
There is no charge to participate in the workshop but registration is requested and can be completed online.
For those individuals unable to travel to Washington, D.C. to participate in the workshop, a free audiocast is available. Registration for the audiocast is also available online. Details on how to access LiveMeeting for each session of the workshop are posted on the Farm Foundation website.
The workshop is targeted to policy makers, researchers and government agency staff, as well as representatives of the human health, livestock production, veterinary medicine and animal health industries.
For more information contact:
Stacy Sneeringer, ERS, USDA, 202-694-5504
Mary Thompson, Farm Foundation, NFP, 630-601-4152
