6 days ago
‘Strong deterrent measures needed from government to tackle anti-microbial resistance'
In tackling the anti-microbial resistance (AMR) challenges India faces, the difficulty to enforce the existing guidelines has been posing an issue, said Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, while addressing the media at an AMR Innovation Workshop held by The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP).
'Over-the-counter sale of antibiotics is the biggest culprit. We also have fake doctors who prescribe antibiotics. Many people think doctor consultation is a waste. But a pharmacist cannot replace a doctor. People also feed antibiotics to their animals prophylactically, which then gets passed downstream through food products,' he said urging for stronger deterrent measures from the government.
Noting that the power of new technology will prove to be extremely useful in biosciences, Mr. Sood said that quantum computing will be a game changer in drug discovery.
Building new solutions
Taslimarif Saiyed, Director-CEO, C-CAMP, noted that building new solutions was important to tackle the AMR challenge, along with enforcement. He pointed out that Karnataka is now developing its own State Action Plan AMR.
'One of the efforts that has been happening under the aegis of the Office of the PSA, as well as the Department of IT/BT - Government of Karnataka is to build solutions.
'Today, the diagnostic cost is much higher than the antibiotic cost. It also takes a long time to get results and determine which antibiotic to prescribe. If we have solutions that can do quick detection at a lower cost and decide which antibiotic to give, people will rather go through a scientific way of diagnostics instead of directly going to pharmacist and taking antibiotics.
Launch of AMR Challenge
The event saw the launch of One Health AMR Challenge 2025 by C-CAMP, with the support of the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS), to identify, support, and scale breakthrough technologies tackling AMR across human, animal, and environmental health.
Selected innovations will receive financial support ranging from ₹40 lakhs to ₹2 crores based on technology readiness. Comprehensive technical assistance—including regulatory, legal, IP, manufacturing, and market readiness support will also be provided.
The workshop held by C-CAMP under the aegis of the India AMR Innovation Hub (IAIH), brought together over 50 key stakeholders from academia, industry, government, and the public health ecosystem.
Innovations including Pocket PCR devices, air sterilisation systems, and paper-based lateral flow tests were featured.
'Our recently unveiled Biotech Policy identifies AMR as a key focus area for intervention, reflecting the Government of Karnataka's commitment to addressing this challenge through innovation and collaboration. We need a collective, coordinated effort to tackle AMR, and what I see here today through the India AMR Innovation Hub is a promising start — many stakeholders coming together in one room, collaborating to address a shared challenge,' said Ekroop Caur, Secretary, Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology, and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka.
