Germany is represented in JPIAMR by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) represents Germany in JPIAMR. Containing antimicrobial resistance requires a comprehensive examination of several relevant sectors, since antimicrobial resistance occurs both in the field of human medicine and in veterinary medicine. Animals and people are often infected by the same pathogens, treated with the same antibiotics and thus have a mutual influence on the problems of resistance. Antibiotics can pass via sewage treatment plants into the water or via sewage sludge into the soil. The problem of the development of resistance can therefore only be tackled with a cross-sectoral approach. Germany has developed and implemented its national Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy as early as 2008 and the Strategy has been continuously updated ever since. Strengthening and supporting research and innovation are an integral part of the German strategy. This includes both national efforts and better and coordinated cooperation at the European and wider international level.
National AMR research program and activities
AMR Research program
- With the “German One Health Initiative” (GOHI), the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI), the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) and the Robert Koch-Institute (RKI) founded a platform for networking of the four sectoral research institutions. In the first round, funding was provided for several PhD theses dealing with data on antimicrobial resistance in humans and animals and with the appearance of resistance in specific pathogens. (2017)
- BMBF: “National research network on zoonotic infectious diseases”, 2017. The goal is to develop the One Health approach further and to build up a closer connection between research and the healthcare sector, so that the results can be used more quickly in the public health services in human and veterinary medicine. This program will end in 2022.
- National Drug Initiative: In April 2017, the German Bundestag adopted the National Drug Initiative to safeguard and strengthen R&D on anti-infectives. The aim of the initiative is to support drug development, including the field of anti-infectives and antibiotic resistance, and to strengthen cooperation between science and industry.
- National Research Platform for Zoonoses and Research Network: The platform was established to strengthen the coordination and networking of cooperation within research activities on zoonotic infectious diseases, i.e. diseases transmissible between humans and animals. The platform is supported by BMBF, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and Federal Ministry of Defence (BMVg) as well as by the departmental research institutions of Federal Ministry of Health, BMEL and BMVg.
National AMR research calls
- Strictly national calls addressing exclusively or predominately AMR issues
- “Junior research groups in infection research”. The aim of the initiative is to promote the career path of qualified young scientists in clinical and application-oriented infection research and to strengthen the research landscape in the area of infection research. Six research groups investigate research topics related to AMR, 2020 and 2022
- Integrated genome-based surveillance of zoonotic pathogens and pathogens with special antimicrobial resistance”, 2018
- Strictly national calls allowing for AMR Research under a wider thematic umbrella
- BMBF: “Drug development based on natural substances for the control of infectious diseases”, 2019
- Bi-/ multinational calls
- BMBF: “Sino-German Call for Projects on Antimicrobial Resistance”, 2020
- BMBF: “French-German Call for Projects on Antimicrobial Resistance”, 2020 and 2022
- BMBF: “Research Networks for Health Innovations in Sub-Saharan Africa”, 2016 and 2023
Activities on AMR actions at national level
- National programs/platforms:
- A nationally (and regionally) funded One Health research institute has been established in 2022. The Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) will address the ongoing threat posed by the emergence of novel pathogens as well as the adaptation of known pathogens, including their antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to already approved agents.
- National contributions to international AMR (related) research programs and activities:
- Since 2021 BMBF has supported two German institutions to contribute to “Academia and industry united innovation and treatment for tuberculosis (UNITE4TB)“ an initiative funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) with around 25M€. UNITE4TB is a Public Private Partnership and aims to accelerate the clinical evaluation of existing and novel drug combinations and to build a global clinical trials network equipped to implement phase 2 trials.
- Since 2019 BMBF has participated in the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) initiative. The BMBF supports this global partnership with around € 40 million €.
- Since 2018 BMBF has invested € 50 million into all business activities of the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP).
- BMBF has taken the lead in setting up the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Development Hub (Global AMR R&D Hub)) and in financing its secretariat located in Berlin with overall € 5.5 million (since 2018). The Hub serves as an international overarching forum for information and alignment of R&D priorities, funding instruments and incentive mechanism. The chairmanship has recently been taken over by Norway and Canada.
- BMBF is a founding member (2003) of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), which supports joint European-African research consortia developing drugs, vaccines and therapeutics also for bacterial infections. BMBF has supported EDCTP with financial and in-kind contributions ever since and will also support the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking that was established in 2021.
- In implementation of the G20 declarations, the first meeting of representatives of Public Health and Veterinary Public Health Institutes of the G20 took place 2017 in Berlin with the aim of strengthening the One Health approach. Representatives of international organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) also participated. AMR is a priority of Germany’s G7 Presidency in 2022
National action plans
- National AMR action plan, updated in 2019. The new NAP will be launched in November 2022 with a stronger One Health focus. An implementation plan is foreseen to be developed in 2023.
Management Board representatives
- Henning Gädeke, Federal Ministry of Education and Research
- Barbara Junker, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
