Who are the people behind these innovations and why are they committed to work ungodly hours to fight what has been referred to as a ‘silent pandemic’? In a series of mini-interviews, Helena Strigård highlights different Nordic companies sharing what part of the solution they bring to the table and how their impact can be leveraged globally. First out is Danish SNIPR Biome, and its CEO Christian Grøndahl – also interviewed in the latest issue of NLS magazine.

How can your company’s solution help tackle AMR?  

“SNIPR Biome is developing SNIPR001, which is a CRISPR-medicine targeting MDR E. coli. SNIPR001 is developed both as an oral prophylactic treatment to reducing the risk of Blood Stream Infections for Cancer patients undergoing Hematopoietic stem cell transplantations.”

Related article

New Danish alliance with the goal to combat AMR

Pfizer Denmark, Pharmadanmark and the Novo Nordisk Foundation have initiated the alliance and aim to prevent the growing spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). “The challenge of antimicrobial resistance cannot be solved by one country alone and requires a global effort. Denmark can play an important role in this by establishing significant initiatives that can inspire […]

What obstacles are you facing that prevent your solution to gain a greater impact? 

“The biggest obstacle is the perceived broken marked for new antibiotics. SNIPR0001 is however targeting a niche segment in the cancer market – around 10,000 patients annually and is more of a rare disease / orphan drug type of medicine.”

We believe it is only a matter of time before such drugs will be in very high demand.

You are one of the many entrepreneurs committing your time and energy to break through with your products, can you share your WHY? 

“The CRISPR technology and the experimental CRISPR medicines which can be developed from this technology hold the promise to bring real impactful benefits to patients and society. Our strategy and passion is to discover and develop future CRISPR medicines to tackle AMR and threat life-threatening infections which are very safe, well tolerated, affordable to produce, and which are very effective in precision target the pathogen causing the disease without disturbing the physiological diversity of the microbiome. We believe it is only a matter of time before such drugs will be in very high demand.”

World AMR Awareness Week

A global action plan to tackle the growing problem of resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines was endorsed at the 68th World Health Assembly in May 2015. One of the key objectives of the plan is to improve awareness and understanding of AMR through effective communication, education and training. The World AMR Awareness Week takes place 18th to 24th November 2024.

Antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections become increasingly difficult or impossible to treat.