As G7 leaders gathered in Evian from 15 to 17 June, CPE joined around 60 experts — clinicians, researchers, patient organisations and industry partners — in an open letter published in Le Monde, urging France to use its G7 Presidency to make antimicrobial resistance (AMR) a strategic priority for health security.
The open letter is also available in English here.
A threat to the foundations of modern medicine
AMR is one of the most serious — and most underestimated — threats to global health. In France alone, it is associated with roughly 32,700 deaths and more than €1.5 billion in additional healthcare costs every year. Beyond these figures, the letter warns that AMR endangers the very basis of modern medicine: cancer treatment, transplants, intensive care, neonatal medicine and even routine surgery all rely on antibiotics that still work.
Why this matters for cancer patients
For the cancer community, the stakes are particularly high. Infections are the second leading cause of death in cancer patients, after cancer itself, and these patients are four to six times more likely to develop resistant infections. Effective antibiotics are an essential safety net — and the inability to develop and ensure rapid access to new antimicrobials puts cancer patients and immunocompromised patients directly at risk.
What the letter calls for
The signatories set out four strategic priorities for the G7: recognising the growing human and economic burden of AMR and the need to preserve access to effective antimicrobials and diagnostics; building a sustainable model for access and innovation, including incentives for much-needed R&D; protecting the future of modern medicine for vulnerable patients; and strengthening global surveillance and coordination ahead of the United Nations high-level meeting on AMR in 2029. The mobilisation is still growing: we continue to gather co-signatories, and organisations and individuals who share these concerns are warmly invited to add their names.
Co-sign the open letter here.
The full list of current co-signatories is available here.
CPE’s position
CPE is proud to add the patient voice to this call. AMR is not a future threat — it is already a patient safety issue, and cancer patients are among the most exposed. Through our work, we are pushing to ensure AMR is recognised as a threat to safe cancer care, and that the protection of immunocompromised patients is embedded in Europe’s AMR and cancer policies. The mobilisation is still growing: we continue to gather co-signatories, and organisations and individuals who share these concerns are warmly invited to add their names.
Read our white paper Combating AMR in Oncology here.
