CASE STUDY

Becton Dickinson

How PLMR Healthcomms and Becton Dickinson Shaped the UK Government’s 2024-2029 AMR Action Plan

Client

Becton Dickinson

Sector

Services provided

The Situation

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant threat to global health, requiring urgent and coordinated action. While the UK Government has committed to tackling AMR, draft plans for its 2024-2029 AMR Action Plan lacked sufficient emphasis on collaboration with industry and innovators—key players in developing the tools necessary to combat this crisis.

This gap threatened to slow progress on vital innovations like diagnostics, vaccines, and alternative therapies.

What we did

Driving Collaboration Across Stakeholders:
In partnership with Becton Dickinson (BD), we designed a robust programme of engagement aimed at shaping policy and fostering cooperation between industry, healthcare leaders, and patient advocates.

Engaging with Key Decision-Makers:
We coordinated discussions with leading officials at NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), as well as prominent patient organisations.

Creating a Forum for Input:
The programme culminated in a full-day workshop at BD’s Safety and Innovation Hub in Winnersh. This workshop brought together stakeholders to assess the Government’s draft AMR Action Plan, focusing on strengthening commitments to industry engagement and innovation.

Influencing Policy Through Collaboration:
Through structured dialogue, stakeholders identified critical areas for improvement in the draft plan. Key recommendations emphasized the need for stronger partnerships between government and industry to drive research and development in AMR solutions

The Result

Strengthened Policy Commitments:
The final AMR Action Plan for 2024-2029 incorporated language directly reflecting our efforts. The plan commits the Government to “work with… industry to fund and deliver innovative research to develop vaccines, diagnostics, antimicrobials, and alternative therapies.”

A Stronger Partnership Framework:
These policy changes underscore a formal acknowledgment of the vital role industry plays in combating AMR. The revised plan now provides a framework for ongoing collaboration, fostering innovation to address this urgent public health challenge

Add PLMR to your contacts

PLMR’s crisis communications experience is second to none, and includes pre-emptive and reactive work across traditional and social media channels. We work with a range of organisations to offer critical communication support when they are faced with difficult and challenging scenarios.