Bacteriophages – a unique opportunity in the fight against antibiotic resistance

Solberg was present when ACD Pharmaceuticals assembled some of Norway’s leading specialists, academics and national authorities in the summer of 2020 to discuss how bacteriophages could become a sustainable and effective alternative to antibiotics for both people and animals, and how that could help to reduce threats to the environment, to curb the economic consequences of resistance, and to create new industry and jobs throughout Norway.

A year of the Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the dramatic consequences a health crisis can have for individuals, the economy and society. We must do what we can to ensure that this does not happen with a crisis we have warning of, like antibiotic resistance.

Solberg urged the participants to establish a work group which could advise on how bacteriophages can be deployed as rapidly as possible in the fight against antibiotic resistance, and on how Norway could acquire a leading role here.
This report is a response to the challenge from Norwegian prime minister Erna Solberg. Many opportunities are available. Success can be achieved with commitment and right instruments.

The health sector has the potential to become one of Norway’s most vigorous and productive industries, and offers great development opportunities. In its White Paper on the health sector, entitled Together for value creation and better services, the government emphasised that this industry can contribute to growth and value creation in the Norwegian economy.

Already accounting for about three per cent of Norway’s value creation, health care has grown by more than twice as much as the overall economy (excluding oil and gas) in recent years. The sector employed some 100 000 people in 2016, up by 18 per cent from 2008.

The report’s authors expressed their thanks to Solberg for taking the initiative on producing this report and for thereby placing an important issue on the agenda. They hoped her engagement with antibiotic resistance and bacteriophages would be further encouraged after reading the report.

Norway is the best in the world on antibiotic resistance and the use of vaccines. Within aquaculture, it is also the best at developing and producing vaccines. Innovations and knowledge from one sector must be transferred to overcome challenges in others.
The country could now become the best for bacteriophages. The opportunity is there.
The work group was chaired by professor emeritus dr.med Lars Vorland. Hans Petter Kleppen, PhD, research director at ACD Pharmaceuticals AS, served as its secretary.

The other members were:

• Anita Schumacher, administrative director, University Hospital of North Norway (UNN)
• Karita Bekkemellem, managing director, Norwegian Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (LMI)
• Ingrid Stenstadvold Ross, general secretary, Norwegian Cancer Society
• Gaute Lenvik, managing director, Norwegian Veterinary Institute
• Anne Husebekk, rector, UiT Arctic University of Norway
• Gunnar Skov Simonsen, professor, UiT and UNN
• Jim-Roger Nordly, CEO, STIM AS

The Norwegian Medicines Agency has contributed to meetings and identified opportunities for contributing expertise and to the work of developing customised regulatory pathways for rapid adoption of the technology.