Sweden

National AMR research program
National action plans
MB representatives

Sweden is represented in the JPIAMR by the The Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), which is also the host of the JPIAMR Secretariat and is the coordinator of several EU-funded projects, including the CSA to design the One Health AMR partnership.

The Swedish government recognises the threat of antimicrobial resistance and is committed to combat AMR both nationally and internationally. Sweden has been a strong advocate for international cooperation for AMR research and participates in several international programs and initiatives relevant for AMR, such as “ReACT – Action on Antibiotic Resistance” where the main funder is the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Global AMR R&D Hub, and several EU programmes/partnerships focused on AMR through the participation of  several agencies including The Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (Formas), the Public Health Agency of Sweden (Fohm), the Swedish Innovation Agency (Vinnova) and the Swedish Veterinary Agency (SVA). Sweden has appointed a government ambassador to work specifically with the issue of antimicrobial resistance.

National AMR research program and activities

AMR Research program

The Swedish national research program on antibiotic resistance aims to preserve the possibility of effective treatment of bacterial infections in humans and animals. The program committee includes representatives from Formas, the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (Forte), Vinnova, the Medical Products Agency, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, Sida, Fohm, the National Board of Health and Welfare, the SVA and Research Institutes of Sweden (Rise).

The Swedish government has appointed to the Public Health Agency of Sweden (Fohm) and the Swedish Board of Agriculture to chair an intersectoral coordinating mechanism that brings together representatives from national authorities and organisations. More information on the Intersectoral coordinating mechanism against antibiotic resistance.

National AMR research calls

  • Swedish Research Council; Proof-of-concept within the infection area, 2022
  • Swedish Research Council; Career grant, 2022
  • Swedish Research Council; Project grant, 2022
  • Swedish Research Council; Proof-of-concept within the infection area, 2021
  • Swedish Research Council, Research environment grant interdisciplinary research, 2021
  • Swedish Research Council, International postdoc grant, 2021
  • Swedish Research Council, Starting grant within medicine and health, 2021
  • Swedish Research Council, Network grant within the infection area: knowledge gaps within antimicrobial resistance, 2020
  • Swedish Research Council, Research time for clinicians within the infection area: Resistance to antibacterial and antifungal drugs, 2020

Activities on AMR actions at national level

  • ENABLE-2, a hit-to-lead platform for antibiotic development: The ENABLE-2 platform (a national extension of the EU project ENABLE – European Gram-Negative Antibacterial Engine) seeks to invigorate the early pipeline of new antibiotics by providing opportunities for scientists, principally in academia and SMEs, to advance their understanding of whether a new chemical entity identified in their laboratories might be optimised for use to treat bacterial infections where existing antibiotics have been rendered ineffective by resistance. The platform is coordinated by Uppsala University and receives financial support with 2.5 M€ annually from the Swedish national research program on antibiotic resistance.
  • Vinnova supports several innovation milieus related to the availability optimal and use of antibiotics as well as infection prevention and control. Vinnova and Fohm are running a pilot on reimbursement for antibiotics to address the availability of existing and new antibiotics.
  • The University of Uppsala, together with government agencies, the private industry and academia is working on the PLATINEA project related to the functioning of the information channels of available antibiotics.
  • AntibiotikaSmart is a communication tool developed by the Rise and several other Swedish agencies and organisations. The platform aims to provide citizens with knowledge of the consequences of antibiotic resistance and how they can act to reduce the spread of infection and use antibiotics in the right way.
  • The National Antibiotic Forum is an annual event where representatives of different sectors of society and areas of work such as health care, public health, veterinary medicine, animal health, food and the external environment meet to establish contacts and exchange information, knowledge and experiences.
  • Skydda antibiotikan is a national communication information campaign organised by Swedish agencies and organisations working with antibiotic resistance.
  • Swedish universities host several research collaborations and centres focused on One Health AMR, including (but not limited to) One Health Sweden,  Uppsala Antibiotic Center, Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden and Centrum för antibiotikaresistensforskning, CARe.

National action plans

Management Board representatives

  • Madeleine Durbeej-Hjalt, Swedish Research Council
  • Vacant, Ministry of Education and Research