The project

Partnership information available here.

Anti-SUPERBugs PCP project wants to mobilize public and private purchasers and networks of users in the field of health-care associated infections to put the joint & direct procurement process in action, having participating understood the innovation gap to be addressed by significant R&D, extending and leveraging the complementarities of the consortium partners to bring together the demand in order to create a critical mass to acquire cost-effective and fit-to-purpose solutions, whilst creating new jobs and opportunities for business growth in Europe, with particular reference to SMEs.

The AntiSuperBugs PCP will be a direct procurement where the contracting authorities are interested in buying the developed product for use in its own organisation, with an opening for possible (others) applications to be used individually by the end-users.

SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND:

Infections caused by resistant microorganisms often fail to respond to the standard treatment, resulting in prolonged hospital stays, higher health care expenditures, and a greater risk of death. Antimicrobials Resistant Organism (AMRO) or Superbugs are invisible, and can survive on surfaces for up to three days. That means that they can be transferred when one infected person simply touches another, or when the patient touches something on which the pathogen resides like a stethoscope or a TV remote control.

Antibiotic resistance varies according to geographic locations and is directly proportional to the use and misuse of antibiotics. Active surveillance systems are in place across all European member states and Norway and are to be considered one of the main contributing factors to the reduction AMRO infections over the years. On the other hand the effort done up to now is not enough to eradicate AMRO/superbugs infections and Anti-SUPERBugs PCP will define and launch a pre-commercial procurement (PCP) to challenge the industry to develop a smart ICT solutions able to detect the presence of resistant microorganisms, give real-time feedback to the user and at the same time share the information with the healthcare provider electronic record systems linking the infection with the place of the detection.

OBJECTIVES:

Anti-SUPERBugs PCP main objective is to support and finance private R&D activities in the field of advanced ICT solutions, aimed at detecting micro‐organisms that may determine the incurrence of hospital-acquired infections and control the diffusion of infections within healthcare providers. This will both address the needs of healthcare providers in increasing HAIs (Hospital Acquired Infections) control and contribute in the development of a new stream of products in the life science and medical device industries.

Specific objectives include:

  • improve the quality and reduce the costs of collateral effects of the care process in hospital, through the development of prototype of ICT services aimed at detecting superbugs and other HAIs vectors. The developed systems will also inform professionals of the risk of infection by the use of signal through different forms, as sound or coloured-light alarms;
  • the creation and consolidation of an pan-European network of procurers, who putting in common their needs and efforts can enable the development of novel technologies aimed to cover bigger market challenges in areas of common European interest. The economic dimension will have a major impact on the definition of the project since, bigger is the market where the companies can sell their product, lower is expected to be the price for the procurers and end-users on the final end-products;
  • the definition of the cross-border and joint pre-commercial public procurement procedure that best meets Anti-SUPERBugs PCP procuring authorities’ needs and that addresses the major societal challenge selected,  either the support to early detection and of antibiotic-resistant bacteria or the support to health-care associated infections preventions;
  • the mutual learning, knowledge sharing and transferring within the consortium and across different fields, technologies and procurement disciplines (social, economic, legal, technical) and EU countries.

Partnership information available here.