Conference - "Combating antibiotic resistance" - European Conference on the role of research in combating antibiotic resistance - Rome, Italy, Friday 28 - Sunday 30 November 2003

Brussels, 26 Nov 2003

Organiser
A European conference on the role of research in combating antibiotic resistance - co-organised by the Research DG of the European Commission and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) during the Italian Presidency of the European Union. Under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Research, the Italian Ministry of Health and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità.

Objective
The Conference is focussing on the problem of anti-bacterial resistance and human health, addressing both basic and clinical research. Its main purposes is:

• to clarify the state-of-the-art of research and its priorities in fields where discussion is particularly needed, namely: microbial ecology, mechanisms of resistance, genomics and new molecular targets for antibiotics.
• to identify the areas which are most suitable for research in Europe (at EU level as well as at national level) and are most likely to impact on the problem of resistance in human bacterial pathogens;
• to stimulate partnership building across public/private/government for future research initiatives;
• to identify ways of overcoming bottlenecks in European research, such as those due to decreasing industrial incentives for R&D on new antibiotics, IPR issues, implementation of research results in clinical practice;
• to increase visibility of antibiotic research among scientists, clinicians, politicians and the general public;
• to contribute to the establishment of a European Research Area (ERA) in this field;
• to contribute to educating researchers and Public Health officers in the specific field of antimicrobial resistance and in how to overcome this problem by concerted research action.

Scientific Programme

Audience
For the conference DG Research and the ESCMID have invited towards 250 representatives from the scientific community, including executive officers, chairpersons of study groups involved in the field, leading experts and active members from Western and Eastern Europe; also Member States and Associated States have been invited to appoint up to some official delegates to participate.

Background

Invitational EU Conferences have been organised during several EU Presidencies to discuss the problem of antimicrobial resistance, namely:

European Conference on the role of research in combating antibiotic resistance (Rome, Italy, 28-30 November 2003)

European Conference on Antibiotic Use in Europe (Brussels, Belgium, 15-17 November 2001)

Progress Report on Antimicrobial Resistance (Visby, Sweden, 13-15 June 2001)

The Microbial Threat (Copenhagen, Denmark, 9-10 September 1998)

Venue

The conference will be held at The Aula Magna, Pontificia Università Urbaniana, Via Urbano VIII, Rome
http:///www.urbaniana.edu/en/

Programme Committee, Scientific Committee, Local Committee (Members)

Working groups

The conference will be split into six different working groups (WG) each of which focus on more specific topics.

Further information on the research in comating antibiotic resistance:

For the thematic priority on life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health in the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) see also: http:///europa.eu.int./comm/research/p1/i ndex_en.html (main web site) or http://www.cordis.lu/lifescihealth/home.html.

A leaflet on "Antibiotics Resistance - A growing threat" is available in eleven languages in the series "European reserach in action" at http:///europa.eu.int/comm/research/leafl ets/antibiotics/index_en.html.

DG Research
http:///europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/research/i ndex_en.html
Item source: http:///europa.eu.int/comm/research/confe rences/2003/antibiotics/index_en.html