Stepping up its determined battle to counter the grave public health threat posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR), Panchkula-based pharmaceutical firm Venus Remedies has become a member of the India AMR Innovation Hub (IAIH), a collaborative platform of key national and international stakeholders dedicated to reducing the AMR burden in India, with the aim of evolving a consensus and support system for long-term solutions to this impending global health catastrophe.

Venus Medicine Research Centre (VMRC), the company’s R&D wing, has set up a non-profit organisation called Preserving Life of Existing Antibiotics (PLEA), which seeks to become a rallying point in the long-winded struggle against AMR through a national surveillance programme on antibiotic resistance by bringing together scientists, researchers and clinicians across various disciplines.

Saransh Chaudhary, President, Global Critical Care, Venus Remedies, and CEO, Venus Medicine Research Centre (VMRC), said “Under the aegis of PLEA, we have established a vast network of healthcare institutions and research centres across India for the surveillance of AMR through a comprehensive software system. Implemented through a network of 150 centres spanning 15 states, including leading hospitals and research institutes, for data collection, feed and analysis, this initiative is aimed at understanding trends of emerging resistance. We have so far mapped emerging AMR patterns for more than 40 antibiotics/combinations for close to 25,000 strains, which has immensely helped physicians take informed decisions on designing therapy. We have also reached out to more than 5 lakh people, including 50,000 doctors and paramedical staff, through our awareness campaigns aimed at reducing the unwarranted use of antibiotics."