Launch of VALUE-Dx in Madrid marked with press release

01 Apr, 2019

The University of Antwerp, bioMérieux and Wellcome Trust today announced the launch of VALUE-Dx, the first Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) project initiated by six in vitrodiagnostic companies who join forces with 20 non-industry partners to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and improve patient outcomes. Coordinated by the University of Antwerp, the ambition of VALUE-Dx is to transform medical practice to achieve more personalised, evidence-based antibiotic prescription and use in community care settings through the widespread use of clinical and cost-effective innovative diagnostic strategies. VALUE-Dx is co-funded by the European Commission (IMI), the Wellcome Trust and private companies over a 4 year period.

Diagnostics are deemed instrumental in guiding health care professionals in treating infectious diseases. However, in community care settings antibiotics are often overused and unnecessarily prescribed, accelerating AMR. VALUE-Dx is a European-wide approach to generate evidence on the medical, economic, and public health value of diagnostics in tackling AMR. It will focus on acute respiratory tract infections acquired in community care settings as they are the most frequent cause of medical consultation and inappropriate antibiotic use. The outcomes of VALUE-Dx could apply to other common infections such as urinary tract infections, blood stream infections, and hospital-acquired respiratory tract infections.

Penta is the paediatric care network for VALUE-Dx, and will leverage sites from the PED-MERMAIDS network to participate in a clinical study within VALUE-Dx to demonstrate the value of diagnostics in the optimal management of community-acquired acute respiratory tract infections.

“Penta is proud to be the paediatric care network for VALUE-Dx,” says Dr. Theoklis Zaoutis, Penta’s Chief Scientific Officer. “Rapid, innovative, and cost-effective diagnostic strategies are some of the most exciting tools we have in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, particularly for paediatric patients. The most common infections in children are viral and do not require antibiotics. If we can distinguish these infections from bacterial infections, which may benefit from antibiotics, with speed and accuracy, then we can prescribe antibiotics to children less frequently and with greater precision.”

The VALUE-Dx Kick-off Meeting is taking place in Madrid, Spain, from April 1 to April 4 and brings together major stakeholders and key experts in the field of diagnostics and AMR.

Read the full press release here.