At Frontiers Science House, Vanina Laurent Ledru, Chief Public Health and Government Affairs Officer of Institut Merieux and bioMerieux, warned that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) will be the next “pandemic” like COVID-19, killing more people than cancer by 2050. Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and Adèle James, Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer of Phagos, urged immediate global action against AMR.
Vanina Laurent Ledru, Chief Public Health and Government Affairs Officer of Institut Merieux and bioMerieux, said:
“One critical point that I am very concerned about is what I call the next pandemic enabled by public mistrust, and that is the COVID-19 in front of us with antimicrobial resistance. Basically, antimicrobial resistance or drug acquired infections will kill more than cancer by 2050. Is anyone talking about that at Davos? No one is speaking about it.”
Laurent Ledru’s comments were made following the session “The science trust dividend: enabling innovation and adoption”. Speakers raised concerns about public mistrust in data and science, which delays policy making and implementation, restraining the society’s response to global challenges, like COVID-19. The private sector, policymakers, and international organizations are the catalyst of building an international trustworthy and ethical science ecosystem. Trust in science depends on equity, transparency, and openness of science.
Speakers included Alexandre Cabaret, Vice President of Partnerships of Devex; Ángel Cabrera, President of the Georgia Institute of Technology; Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge; Fiona Marshall, President of Biomedical Research of Novartis; Gilles Moëc, Chief Economist of AXA Group; Josef Aschbacher, Director General of European Space Agency (ESA); Khaled El-Enany, Director-General of UNESCO; Juan Lavista, Chief Data Scientist and Corporate Vice President of Microsoft; Lene Oddershede, Chief Scientist Officer, Natural & Technical Sciences of Novo Nordisk Foundation; Michael Hengartner, President of the ETH Zurich Board; Milo Puhan, President of the Swiss School of Public Health; and Salvatore Aricò, Chief Executive Officer of the International Science Council.
In the session “Championing One Sustainable Health for global resilience”, Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, urged immediate cross-sector actions against AMR:
“AMR is a pandemic with a probability of 100%. It is guaranteed to happen. It is already happening. Yet we have failed to mobilize significant resources to mitigate it.”
Speakers included Benoît Miribel, President of the One Sustainable Health for All Foundation; Lise Korsten, President of African Academy of Science; Ramanan Laxminarayan, Founder and President of the One Health Trust; and Vanina Laurent Ledru, Chief Public Health and Government Affairs Officer of Institut Merieux and bioMerieux.
The discussion stressed that “One Sustainable Health” governance is needed to strengthen resilience across human, animal, and environmental systems and de-escalate interconnected risks across climate change, biodiversity loss, and public health.
Adèle James, Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer of Phagos, said in the session “Beating antimicrobial resistance”:
“AMR is a major, major problem and some people describe it as a silent pandemic. So, it is great to have the Frontiers Science House space to discuss it in Davos and in the middle of the most important people taking decisions. And it is the first major step to address the problem from the root.”
Other speakers – including Flemming Kondrasen, Chief Scientific Officer of Novo Nordisk Foundation; John Schoonbee, Global Chief Medical Officer of Swiss Re; and Steve Clemons, Editor at Large of the National Interest, – focused on solutions to AMR as well as the threat. As natural predators of bacteria, phage-based medicines are emerging as a promising, adaptive treatment to infections that no longer respond to antibiotics. However, drugs alone will not solve AMR and it must be managed over time. Nutrition, hygiene, and everyday behaviors that reduce transmission and unnecessary antibiotic use matter. Future mortality will depend on how health systems, policymakers, and societies address the risks now.
From 19–23 January 2026, Frontiers Science House at Davos brings transformational science to the heart of global leadership. Through curated dialogues, impact sessions, and Frontiers Labs, Science House connects researchers, CEOs, ministers, investors, and philanthropists to accelerate solutions across health, climate, technology, and governance. Science House is hosted on the Davos Promenade and organized by Frontiers, a global leader in open science.