Alere Announces Broad Initiatives to Help Combat Antibiotic Resistance during White House Antibiotic Stewardship Forum

WALTHAM, Mass., June 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Alere Inc. (NYSE: ALR), a global leader in rapid diagnostics, joined the White House Antibiotic Stewardship Forum today to announce a comprehensive set of commitments to support and advance the President's National Action Plan to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. The Company's commitments include a number of measurable goals and objectives over the next five years that, when achieved, will help healthcare providers protect their patients through antibiotic stewardship, slow the growth of resistant bacteria and help prevent new resistant strains from developing.

"A critical strategy for reducing the spread and impact of antibiotic resistance is using rapid diagnostics to identify when antibiotics are necessary, and when they should be withheld," said Namal Nawana, CEO and President, Alere. "Alere is leading industry efforts to further educate healthcare providers about this issue, and we are pleased to step up our commitment to the President's National Action Plan to help protect both patients and the effectiveness of antibiotics for future generations."

Alere's additional commitments to slowing the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria and helping to prevent the development of new antibiotic resistant strains are as follows:

• Promote Test Target Treat™, Alere's antibiotic stewardship education campaign for healthcare providers, to highlight the critical role diagnostics play in effective antibiotic stewardship.
• Publicly release educational materials – including a series of Continuing Medical Education (CME) accredited webinars, patient cases studies and monographs – on the use of rapid point-of-care diagnostics in effective antibiotic stewardship.
• Partner with a leading university to complete a study on the acceptability, feasibility, barriers and challenges to use of specific, new, point-of-care tests in US primary care settings from practitioner, clinic and patient perspective.
• Publish proceedings from a 2014 biomarker antibiotic stewardship summit via Alere's partnership with the Association for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA).
• Participate in the development of the first global online qualification in antimicrobial stewardship.

About Alere Alere believes that when diagnosing and monitoring health conditions, Knowing now matters™. Alere delivers reliable and actionable information through rapid diagnostic tests, resulting in better clinical and economic healthcare outcomes globally. Headquartered in Waltham, Mass., Alere focuses on rapid diagnostics for infectious disease, cardiometabolic disease and toxicology. For more information on Alere, please visit www.alere.com.

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SOURCE Alere Inc.