GREENFIELD, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Elanco Animal Health (NYSE: ELAN) today updated its commitment to fighting antimicrobial resistance, which includes promoting responsible antibiotic use practices and policies while developing alternatives to medically important antibiotics (a subset of which include critically important antibiotics to human health). This latest move further refines Elanco’s aggressive, multifaceted 8-point plan announced in 2015 at the White House Stewardship Forum. Today’s commitments focus on three key areas of stewardship, including combating antimicrobial resistance through responsible antibiotic use, reducing the need for medically important antibiotics in livestock, and significantly investing in researching new alternatives.
The Antimicrobial Resistance Challenge, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS), is a yearlong effort to accelerate the fight against antimicrobial resistance with action across governments and industries.
“It is of utmost importance we address the complex challenge of antimicrobial resistance and preserve the effectiveness of medicines for people and animals,” said Jeff Simmons, president and CEO of Elanco. “Supporting the CDC and HHS effort is an important step in reaffirming our commitment to responsible antibiotic usage and veterinary oversight capacity around the world. This is a global issue, and any solution will require global participation across all sectors of human and animal health.”
New commitments include:
- Investing at least half of Elanco’s food animal research and development budget in projects dedicated to developing alternatives to shared-class antibiotics
- Increasing veterinary and professional oversight access in countries with limited resources through new partnerships
- Expanding data collection and analytics to inform animal health professionals on best practices
- Encouraging vaccination and nutrition programs that reduce the need for medically important antibiotics by preventing disease
Today’s commitment – outlined within the CDC’s Antimicrobial Resistance Challenge materials - is the next step in Elanco’s 8 point antibiotic stewardship plan. Since its inception in 2015, Elanco has made tangible progress on the plan, including the following:
- Changed nearly 100 labels to remove growth promotion claims from our medically important antibiotic molecules globally, even if the practice is allowed by local regulation
- Completed submission of 67 labels to move products from over-the-counter use to be under the oversight of a veterinarian in the countries where over-the-counter uses remained and veterinary infrastructure exists
- Have brought more than 15 antibiotic alternatives into our pipeline to help producers replace antibiotics when possible
- Convened a landmark, first-of-its-kind One Health Antibiotic Stewardship Summit for more than 200 global animal protein industry and food chain leaders and declared priorities to help combat antimicrobial resistance as part of efforts to produce a sustainable food supply
- Joined with 200 other companies and 700,000 veterinarians worldwide to undersign HealthforAnimals’ ‘Commitments and Actions on Antibiotic Use,’ which outlines the five guiding responsible use principles of the animal medicines industry
On September 28, Elanco is co-sponsoring the symposium on Minimizing the Risk of Antimicrobial Resistance from Food Animal Production at the New York Academy of Sciences. This daylong symposium will discuss the drivers that lead to antimicrobial resistance, the primary pathways of pathogen transmission, the drive to prioritize the use of non-medically important antibiotics and an array of strategies to mitigate antimicrobial resistance. Among the distinguished speakers, Elanco Global Technical and Regulatory Advisor on Antimicrobial Dr. Shabbir Simjee, Ph.D., will present data and analysis on the global status of medically important antibiotics during the meeting. More information about the symposium can be found at www.nyas.org.
About Elanco Animal Health
Elanco is a global animal health company that develops products and knowledge services to prevent and treat disease in food animals and pets in more than 90 countries. With a 64-year heritage, we rigorously innovate to improve the health of animals and benefit our customers, while fostering an inclusive, cause-driven culture for more than 5,800 employees. At Elanco, we’re driven by our vision of food and companionship enriching life – all to advance the health of animals, people and the planet. Learn more at www.elanco.com.