CLOSE UP ON AMR


Attendees to the opening night of LifeLine were also treated to a panel discussion on AMR. The session discussed why protecting antibiotics requires fresh thinking and unexpected alliances and included experts from across medicine, science, policy and the arts. The panellists discussed how the different sectors must come together to tackle the issue of AMR.


Here is an overview of the discussion on the night.


Rachel Freeman (infectious disease specialist and Trustee at The AMR Narrative)


It’s hard to pick just one thing, but the scene with patients asking for antibiotics really stayed with me. You’ve got doctors unsure - should they prescribe or not? Patients worried. And afterwards, that doubt- “what if I got it wrong?”


That tension is very real. And honestly, it’s a horrible place to be, for both sides. What it really highlights is the lack of diagnostics. If we had better tools, we could take away that uncertainty. And that’s a big challenge we need to solve.


Jacqui: Rahul, what about you? What did you take away from the show?


Rahul Dwivedi (senior director, Global Antimicrobial R&D Partnership - GARDP)


Jacqui Thornton (biotech journalist for The Lancet)


Before we start, I just want to pause on the scale of what we’ve seen brought to life tonight [by the Lifeline performance]. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a huge and growing problem. Around 35,000 deaths in the UK each year. Over 1.2 million globally since 2019. And projections of up to 39 million deaths by 2050. So this isn’t a distant issue…it’s already here. But there is work being done. And we’re lucky to have some incredible people working in this space. So we’ve brought together a panel to talk through some of the challenges; and importantly, some of the solutions.


So, to start with, Alicia, I’ll come to you first. Why did you get involved in the production? And how has it been?


Alicia Demirjian (Consultant in paediatric infectious diseases and clinical lead for AMR & prescribing, UK Health Security Agency- and Lifeline chorus member!)


It’s been amazing. Really energising, motivating, inspiring. For me, connecting the arts and music with the work I do. It’s been incredibly rewarding. And I think it really shows how real this problem is and how committed people are to tackling it.


As a paediatrician, the clinical side obviously hit home to me. But also my public health work - speaking to policymakers, trying to raise awareness. You often hear things like, “well, my constituents don’t think this is a problem” and that can be really demoralising. So that moment in the show “what do you want me to do?” that felt very real.


Jacqui: Rachel, you’ve seen the show twice now, what stood out to you most?


Two things really stood out for me. One was the patient story, it hit very close to home. My own family went through something similar, so that was quite emotional. And then the policy side - that question of “what can we actually do?” That really reflects the reality of working in this space. Even with the right intentions, there are limits.


And I think a lot of people have lived through this without realising it. During COVID, for example, people were given antibiotics “just in case.” Those experiences were real - we just don’t always connect them to AMR.


Jacqui: Jo, what was your perspective?


Jo Taylor (vice president, AMR policy, Shionogi Europe)


I loved it! And I’m not usually a musical person, so that says a lot! What stood out was the emotional connection. Data tells us what’s happening - but stories tell us why it matters. And that’s what makes something like this stick.


Jacqui: Is a musical the right way to talk about something like AMR?


Alicia: I think it really is. We’ve been talking about AMR for decades in scientific terms, but we’re still struggling to communicate it properly. People connect with stories. With emotions. And that’s what this does - it makes it real.


Jacqui: Why do you think AMR still isn’t widely talked about? It feels like something people have experienced but don’t necessarily recognise.


Rahul: Exactly. Everyone has some kind of lived experience, especially after COVID. But we don’t always connect those experiences back to antimicrobial resistance. This show really helps bridge that gap.


Jacqui: What are the biggest challenges we’re facing right now?


Alicia: It’s not just about rare cases - it affects everything. Modern medicine depends on antibiotics. Surgery, cancer treatment, even routine procedures. And we’re already seeing the impact, we’re having to use more toxic or less effective drugs. That’s happening now.


Jacqui: So solutions. Where do we even start?


Jo: There’s no single solution. But one big issue is that we’re losing antibiotics faster than we’re developing new ones. We need more research, more investment, and better incentives to encourage innovation.


Rahul: And access is key. Making sure the right antibiotics are available to the patients who need them. We also need awareness at scale, like the big public health campaigns we’ve seen before.


Rachel: Diagnostics are a huge part of this. If we can diagnose properly, we remove the guesswork for doctors and patients. But we also need to change how we talk about this. People need to understand it and feel confident asking for better.


Alicia: There’s no single fix. I’ll end with the three Cs that I’m learning about. It’s about collaboration, coordination and communication. We need everyone involved.


Jacqui: And what can the public actually do?


Rachel: Talk about it. Share your experiences. Ask questions. Demand better. Because better solutions do exist.


Jo: Exactly. This isn’t a niche issue; it affects all of us. So tell people. Talk about it. Even small conversations matter.


42 pharmacyinfocus.co.uk


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