Bengaluru-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), an initiative supported by the Department of Biotechnology, has announced a next-generation tripartite Indo-European collaboration to address the grave challenges posed by Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), with science, innovation, policy, and stewardship. This tripartite agreement welcomes a new entrant, Swissnex in India, the Swiss science and technology consulate part of a Swiss global network connecting Switzerland and the world in education, research, and innovation, as part of the WAAH! Accelerator which was originally signed between the Dutch Embassy and C-CAMP in December 2022.

The WAAH! Accelerator is working towards emphasising co-creation and co-development of new technologies in Water, Agriculture, Animal, and Human Health towards fulfilling the One Health approach to address AMR. This Accelerator was set up as a C-CAMP partnership with NADP (Netherlands Antibiotic Development Platform) and AMR Global, both Netherlands-based organisations. With Swissnex in India joining this programme, this agreement will not only encourage path-breaking science but also prioritise faster impact on-field nationally and globally.

This tripartite agreement was recently announced at the C-CAMP premises by its Director-CEO Dr Taslimarif Saiyed, and Jonas Brunschwig CEO, Consul General, Swissnex in India at an exclusive event during the Indo-Swiss AMR Innovation Dialogue that brought selected AMR innovators from C-CAMP portfolio, and C-CAMP’s international partners to the same table as high-level delegates and policymakers from the Indian, Swiss and Dutch scientific ecosystems.

The partners have prioritised problem areas within AMR that they will address in a phase-wise manner. As a start, the WAAH! plans to roll out a global AMR challenge in early 2024 after a detailed needs-assessment exercise by the stakeholders, and identification of a subset of AMR challenges that can be addressed with innovations, while efficiently leveraging the respective innovation networks.