AMR Alliance Japan (Secretariat: Health and Global Policy Institute) and Investor Action on AMR held a webinar on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as an investment issue.

Antimicrobials are vital to efforts to protect humanity from infectious diseases. However, as we use antimicrobials more and more, the microorganisms that cause infectious diseases adapt, and grow resistant to treatment. This naturally occurring process is called “antimicrobial resistance” (AMR) – but it is compounded by human and corporate behaviors.
AMR is making currently treatable infectious diseases harder and harder to cure. As a result, already, in Japan, it is estimated that as many as 8,000 people are dying every year of AMR-related causes, double the amount of people who die annually from traffic accidents. Looking toward the future, the impact of AMR in Japan is expected to rise further as the Japanese population continues to age, since older adults typically have increased need for antibiotics given that infections such as urinary tract infections (UTIs) grow increasingly common with age. This is a pandemic that we know is happening already, which is set to increase, without urgent action.

AMR is a major threat outside of Japan too. Health systems in high- and low-income countries alike depend on their being effective and accessible antibiotics to treat patients with. It has been estimated that AMR is responsible for as many as 700,000 deaths per year worldwide right now, and that by 2050, as many as 10 million people could potentially die of AMR-related causes globally every year.

A key challenge is limited research and development into new medicines and vaccines required to respond to rising AMR. Without the development of new and effective antibiotics and vaccines we will lose the race against rising drug-resistant infections. However, there are many problems in the antimicrobials market and practices within the pharmaceutical industry that are hindering development and may be facilitating the spread of resistance.

At the same time, most antibiotics globally are consumed by animals – often unnecessarily, to grow animals which can then be farmed for profit, rather than to treat animals when they are sick. This overuse in animals has spillover which affect human health, as well as putting pressure on supply chains which is not sustainable.

This isn’t just a matter of public health. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the serious impact that infectious disease problems can have on the global economy. If the world doesn’t work harder to tackle this issue, it is estimated that we will see US$100 trillion in global economic losses due to AMR by 2050. That would mean a potential decline in global GDP of as much as 3.8 percent. AMR is a complex issue that cannot be solved by individual actions. It requires society-wide solutions, and investors have a role to play in that as well. Many of the problems that hinder progress on AMR are market issues in the pharmaceutical and agriculture sectors that impact and are influenced by investment decisions. AMR is a material risk for investors if their supply chains and investments directly or indirectly exacerbate AMR. Careful consideration by investors that takes into account how their investments influence the AMR problem could do much to help protect society, the economy, and the long-term value of portfolios in the future. Consumer power is already driving fast food chains and retailers to reduce the use of antibiotics in their food supply chains. Now we need investors to follow these trends- and lead them.

AMR Alliance Japan and Investor Action on AMR held this roundtable, “Investing in the Future: The Role of Investors in Saving the World from AMR,” to increase understanding and share information on the threat of AMR among stakeholders from the fields of infectious disease, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and investing. Participants discussed how AMR is currently impacting investments, and consider what those in each field can do to tackle this important problem moving forward.

■ Overview
Date: September 8, 2021 (Wednesday)
Organizer: AMR Alliance Japan (Secretariat: Health and Global Policy Institute), Investor Action on AMR

■ Program
Welcome and Introduction
 Matt McEnany (Senior Manager, Health and Global Policy Institute / AMR Alliance Japan)

Presentation: The Growing Threat of AMR
 Kazuhiro Tateda (Former President, The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases / President, The Japanese Society for Clinical Microbiology / Professor, Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Toho University)

Presentation: Challenges of the Antimicrobials Market – Incentivizing Development and Stabilizing Supply
 Takuko Sawada (Director of the Board, Executive Vice President, Shionogi & Co., Ltd.)

Presentation: Antimicrobial Use in the Agriculture Sector – Current and Future Topics
 Tetsuo Asai (Professor, United Graduate School of Veterinary Sciences, Gifu University)

Presentation: AMR as an Investment Challenge
 Maria Lettini (Executive Director, FAIRR Initiative)

Presentation: EBRD’s approach to address AMR
 Nobuko Ichikawa (Senior Environmental Advisor, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development)

Roundtable Discussion
Panelists:
 Kazuhiro Tateda (Former President, The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases / President, The Japanese Society for Clinical Microbiology / Professor, Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Toho University)
 Takuko Sawada (Director of the Board, Executive Vice President, Shionogi & Co., Ltd.)
 Tetsuo Asai (Professor, United Graduate School of Veterinary Sciences, Gifu University)
 Maria Lettini (Executive Director, FAIRR Initiative)
 Nobuko Ichikawa (Senior Environmental Advisor, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development)
 Yuki Ikehata (Asset Management One Co.,Ltd)
 Seiji Kawagoe (Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management)
 Takashi Miyao (Nomura Asset Management)
 Kiyoshi Kurokawa (Chairman, Health and Global Policy Institute)

Closing Remarks
 Kiyoshi Kurokawa (Chairman, Health and Global Policy Institute)