Health Innovators – Aleks Engel
One month ago, editor-in-chief Jonah Comstock travelled to Copenhagen, Denmark to visit the Novo Nordisk Foundation. In the video below, he speaks with Aleks Engel, a Partner in Bioindustrial Investing at Novo Holdings, the foundation’s investment arm, about the looming crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and how it can be addressed.
Novo Holdings is tackling the problem through three different investment vehicles – The REPAIR Impact Fund, the AMR Action Fund, and Paratek, a recent acquisition. Engels explains how these different approaches work together, and why this is an area where it pays to have a long time frame for a return.
He also discusses the seriousness and urgency of the crisis, the importance of balancing stewardship and innovation, and the necessity of changing how we, as a global society, pay for antibiotics, from a volume-based model to an access-based one.
Editor’s Note: The Novo Nordisk Foundation provided lodging in and transportation to Copenhagen for our correspondent. The Foundation was not given any assurance of editorial coverage of the event, positive or negative, nor were they granted prior review of the any editorial materials.
