PLATINEA: a collaboration platform for innovating existing antibiotics

Purpose and goal

The project has reached its main goal of expanding the platform PLATINEA from 4 to 14 partners representing key sectors for antibiotic availability and use, which makes it unique. These partners are now submitting to Vinnova a new joint application for a continued project (Step 2). After close discussions with Folkhälsomyndigheten, a key new PLATINEA partner, the prioritization of antibiotic needs and knowledge gaps that this agency made for 2015-17 was taken as ground for selecting optimization studies for Step 2, and such renewed prioritizations will be key deliverables of Step 2.

Expected results and effects

A key outcome of this project is the formation of a multi-sectorial collaboration platform for improving the use and availability of antibiotic in Sweden. The platform PLATINEA includes now 14 organizations from academia, healthcare, authorities and industry, who agreed to pursue an agenda including (1) a constant prioritization of national antibiotic needs and knowledge gaps, (2) implementation studies on new methods for rational antibiotic use, (3) selected pre-clinical studies to optimize antibiotic use, and (4) improved availability via supply chains and economic models.

Planned approach and implementation

The work in this project was organised in four work-packages: one conducted stakeholder analyses to identify new relevant actors to engage in the platform; another one acted specifically to engage these other organizations via three open workshops and a series of one-to-one bilateral discussions; the next work-package focussed on the governance model for the platform and the future contract addressing issues of transparency and conflicts of interests; the last work-package covered the planning of Step 2 of the project and the related application to Vinnova.