MIT SOLVE: Antibiotic Resistance Challenge

As an initiative of MIT, solving is core to what we do. We believe that to build a better future for all, we need new voices and ideas. We launch open calls for brilliant and bold tech-based solutions that solve big problems.

How can data and technology improve stock control and/or reduce the use of substandard and falsified oral antibiotics for community use in low- and middle-income countries?

Antibiotic resistance (often referred to as antimicrobial resistance or AMR) is a One Health crisis and an increasing threat to our health, food, and environmental security.

It is estimated that antibiotic resistance will cause 39 million deaths in the next 25 years. Without action, the majority of deaths will occur within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

People and animals in LMICs lack access to common antibiotics. Of the 7.75 million people who die of bacterial sepsis each year, almost 3 million have infections that could be treated with commonly used oral antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin, which are generally low risk, low cost, and widely available. Children under 5 years of age in LMICs are especially affected.

Lack of access to effective antibiotics causes both mild and severe infections, increased antibiotic resistance, and death in both human and animal populations. There are many contributing factors: from upstream manufacturing quality control, to downstream availability of health care services. The Trinity Challenge on Community Access to Effective Antibiotics is particularly interested in the following two drivers:

1. Lack of stock control at the sub-national/local level in community settings.
2. Substandard and falsified oral antibiotics, which are estimated to make up 10% of antimicrobials used by humans in LMICs and 6.5% of veterinary medicines.

We are seeking innovative, low-cost data and technology solutions in LMICs to improve antibiotic stock control and reduce the sale and use of substandard and falsified oral antibiotics. The use and/or generation of community-level data should be integral to solutions. Solutions may relate to human and/or animal health and can respond to either issue of stock control or substandard and falsified oral antibiotics, or both.

Solutions might respond to this Challenge by, for example:

• Leveraging citizen-related data (such as mobility or health metrics) to improve sustainable access to effective antibiotics for human and/or animal use.
• Applying technology to improve the tracking of antibiotics along the journey from manufacture to patient, tracking community demand, and reporting on shortages and/or predicting stockouts.
• Innovation in data capture and/or data analysis relating to stock control or substandard and falsified antibiotics.
• Developing (or updating) more accurate estimates of the prevalence of substandard and falsified antibiotics in a specific community or in a specific part of the supply chain.
• Developing new or improved ways to authenticate antibiotics at the point of sale.
• Developing technology to monitor the effect of climate factors on antibiotic quality.
• Applying existing technology from other sectors to this issue.

See full eligibility criteria here.

Prize

A prize fund of up to £1,000,000 will be awarded, with an aim to award a grand prize of £500,000 in each category of the Challenge (Stock Control and Substandard and Falsified Antibiotics). Other prizes may be made at the discretion of the Judges e.g. runner-up prizes or honourable mentions for solutions outstandingly meeting some criteria.

The exact amount of the prize for each winner will depend on the solution’s needs for development, deployment, and scaling over the next two years.

The Trinity Challenge reserves the right to increase or decrease prize values at their discretion.

Prize funding will be contractually binding between applicants and The Trinity Challenge and must be used to develop the solutions and further the aims of the Challenge.

In addition to prize funding, The Trinity Challenge will look to leverage support from its network of Members to enhance winning solutions, through opportunities such as networking, mentorship, or collaborations.

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