14 BIOGAIA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2021 Antibiotics are a medicinal substance used to prevent and treat bacterial infections. Antibiotic resistance arises when bacteria change in response to the use of these substances. Bacteria that develop resistance to antibiotic treatment risk undermining modern healthcare. If we can no longer treat bacterial infections, all types of surgical intervention, including common operations such as caesarean sections and appendectomies, become highly risky. Urinary tract infections may become untreatable and pneumonia life- threatening. Not only bacteria can become resistant but also viruses, fungi and parasites can develop resistance to medicinal substances and the collective name for this is antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Already when BioGaia was established 32 years ago, both BioGaia’s founders and researchers who worked for BioGaia were aware of the threat linked to the excessive use of antibiotics. In recent decades, awareness of antibiotic resistance has grown, but research into preventive measures has lagged behind. This is why the Foundation to Prevent Antibiotic Resistance, also known as the PAR Foundation, was established in 2017, on the initiative of BioGaia, to prevent antibiotic resistance through support to research, education and information activities. The Foundation offers support to promising projects that may struggle to receive government funding. How does BioGaia work with antimicrobial resistance (AMR)? During the year, BioGaia ran an AMR initiative, together with other life science members of SwedenBIO, to raise awareness and stop the development of antimicrobial resistance. In conjunction with the WHO’s annual, global AMR campaign on 19–24 November, a film was produced that was shared in SwedenBIO’s and the other participating companies’ social channels. The purpose of the campaign was to raise awareness of AMR and the Swedish life science companies’ solutions: to prevent infection, alternative treatments and improvement of existing antibiotics. BioGaia specifically highlighted a message that clinically proven probiotics are one way to help the body retain a good balance and also reduce the risk of infection and thereof excessive use and/or misuse of antibiotics. The campaign had 50,000 views. In addition, the campaign also created interest from several of BioGaia’s partners to cooperate ahead of theWHO’s AMR campaign 2022. Besides disseminating information on the ability of probiotics to reduce the risk of long-term infection, BioGaia has products that can be taken in connection with anti- biotics treatment to reduce side effects when parts of the body’s own defences (good bacteria) are eliminated by antibiotics. What could solve AMR? The problemmust be addressed from several different angles in parallel. Above all, the overuse and misuse of antibiotics must be reduced, though we must also work to reduce the number of infections and to develop alternative treatments to antibiotics. Kristine Koppelhus, Scientific Affairs Manager at BioGaia What is antibiotic resistance (ABR) and how is it linked to BioGaia’s work? Healthy products CONTENTS
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