Targeted Action and Financing the Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance in Asia 2025

CASE STUDY 4 Wellcome’s low-cost laboratory information management system (LIMS) While surveillance is critical to global AMR containment and control, many countries find it challenging to generate suitable, high-quality data for analysis of the AMR burden or to submit to international AMR surveillance systems. This is mainly due to the lack of resources and technical capabilities of their diagnostic laboratories to capture data systematically. To plug this gap, Wellcome, with the Surveillance and Epidemiology of Drug-Resistant Infections Consortium (SEDRIC) think-tank, embarked on the development of an open-source, freely available laboratory information management system (LIMS), referred to as SEDRILIMS. SEDRILIMS can help laboratories manage specimens linked to a patient database, support bench workflow within the laboratory, and access and analyse their own data more easily. The system, which has also achieved interoperability with laboratory equipment, has flexible deployment modes enabling it to run in remote labs without the internet, as well as in sophisticated labs with cloud connectivity. In Sierra Leone, SEDRILIMS is run on a single laptop and has been tested in remote areas where internet and power outages are frequent. SEDRILIMS was piloted for three months at five representative sites, of which two were in Asia (Cambodia and Laos). Since 2022, the SEDRILIMS platform has been implemented in over 15 countries across Africa and Asia, including Cambodia, India, Laos and Thailand. SEDRILIMS enables laboratories to use data at individual patient level to guide treatment, as well as aggregating data at a local level within a hospital to guide outbreak investigations or write antibiotic guidelines. Laboratories equipped with SEDRILIMS are also better able to report to and interface with regional, national and international surveillance networks, such as WHO’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS). Sources: See endnote.122 Support solutions for simple, rapid, affordable and accurate diagnostics in agriculture and livestock Asia is becoming a hub of innovation to tackle AMR, with start-ups developing rapid diagnostic tools and AI-powered monitoring systems to reduce antibiotic use. In agriculture, advancements in probiotics, vaccines and precision-farming aim to minimize antimicrobial use while maintaining productivity. Countries such as China and Thailand have made significant reductions in their antimicrobial use in animal husbandry.123 Many markets in Asia are dominated by small- and medium-scale farms that require tailored approaches.124 Scaling up initiatives across Asia to reduce antimicrobial use through cross-sector collaborations and investments in veterinary innovations like vaccines and probiotics is key to addressing AMR. Finally, while reducing antimicrobials in agriculture is critical, strategies must also consider food security. Strengthening value chains and ensuring sustainable livestock management can balance health and nutritional needs while addressing AMR. CASE STUDY 5 Forte Biotech’s farmer-friendly PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test Forte Biotech has designed and built an award-winning, rapid, easy-to-use, on-site PCR test system that allows farmers to easily run tests on their own farms and get results within an hour. Shrimp farmers in South-East Asia commonly rely on antibiotics to control diseases – but without timely and accessible diagnostics, they tend to over-rely on these treatments, leading to high mortalities, increased costs and significant environmental impact. With less reliance on antibiotics, farmers can now detect diseases early and increase farm efficiencies and yields through sustainable solutions such as better husbandry or probiotic immune boosters. This enables farmers to strengthen biosecurity, minimize losses when diseases strike and reduce overall antibiotic use and feed waste. One shrimp farmer who worked with Forte Biotech’s solution has reduced his antibiotic usage by 80% with a target to stop the usage entirely, while reporting higher shrimp survival rates, improved yields and increased shrimp sizes – helping grow profits by almost 40 times. Forte’s kits are easy to use, do not require laboratory equipment or cold chain/storage, and are fully farm-ready. Most importantly, Forte’s solution is built for farmers — requiring just $420 in upfront payment. In 2024, this solution had reached over 60 users of varying sizes across South-East Asia, from smallholder farmers to commercial farms and feed-mills. Source: See endnote.125 Targeted Action and Financing the Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance in Asia 28