ReAct’s Otto Cars Receives the 2010 APUA Leadership Award

The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) is presenting its prestigious leadership award to Prof. Otto Cars, founding Director of ReAct, for his “outstanding leadership in the worldwide effort to contain antibiotic resistance”.

“Otto Cars has provided outstanding leadership in the worldwide effort to contain antibiotic resistance”, said APUA President Stuart B. Levy when announcing the honor in conjunction with the annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Boston. “His energetic commitment to fostering international political action on the global aspects and consequences of antibacterial resistance continues to make an important difference, and we are delighted to recognize his vital work.”

Otto Cars, Professor of Infectious Diseases at Uppsala University and founding Director of ReAct, has worked assiduously with antibiotic resistance (ABR) issues. In 1995, he was instrumental in laying the foundation for Strama, the Swedish Strategic Programme against ABR, which he still heads. On the international level, with a special focus on ABR in low-and middle income countries, he works with ReAct – Action on Antibiotic Resistance. Prof. Cars held the position as director of ReAct from the inception in 2004 up to and including 2009, when he was appointed chairman of the ReAct secretariat.

“Otto Cars has played a pivotal role in driving the ABR-issue, placing it on the political agenda, initiating action on ABR at multiple levels of society”, says current ReAct director Andreas Heddini. “It is with great pride that ReAct note this prestigious recognition.”



The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) was founded in 1981 with the aim to contain antibiotic resistance and improve antibiotic effectiveness. The APUA Leadership Award recognizes individuals and organizations who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in promoting the prudent use of antibiotics with the goal of containing antibiotic resistance.

Action on Antibiotic Resistance – ReAct
ReAct is an international network of researchers, clinicians, policy advocates, and civil society groups, working to catalyse and initiate action on antibiotic resistance. We do this by engaging with key stakeholders such as policy makers, civil society and non-governmental organisations, academia and research institutions as well as international organisations.

The ReAct network is governed by a secretariat drawing on people from different parts of the world, currently Australia, Ecuador, USA, India, Sweden and Thailand.

ReAct is an independent network and does not accept support from the pharmaceutical industry.




Short biography of Otto Cars:
Otto Cars became a specialist in infectious diseases in the early 1970’s at the Medical Faculty, Uppsala University where he holds a position as Professor of Infectious Diseases since 2003. His research has focussed on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antibiotics, optimal antibiotic dosing regimens, rational use of antibiotics and resistance epidemiology. He was one of the founders and the second president of the International Society of Anti-infective pharmacology (ISAP). Otto Cars is the chair of Strama (the Swedish strategic programme against antibiotic resistance) since its inception in 1995. He has been actively involved in numerous European and international initiatives in the area of antimicrobial resistance. Since 2004 Otto Cars has been engaged in building an international network with focus on the global aspects and consequences of antibacterial resistance React, Action on Antibiotic Resistance (www.reactgroup.org).


Past recipients of the APUA Leadership Award:

2009 Infectious Diseases Society of America
2008 Working Party on Antibiotic Policy (SWAB) and Working Party on Infection Prevention (WIP)
2007 International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B)
2006 Herman Goossens and Anna Lönnroth, European Commission
2005 Dr. Richard Besser - the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2004 Dr. Gabriel Schmunis - the Pan American Health Organization
2003 Robert L. Langer - McDonald's Corporation; Drs. Frank M. Aarestrup and Henrik C. Wegener - Danish Veterinary Institute  
2002 Dr. Murray Lumpkin - U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Dr. David Bell - U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Marissa Miller - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
2001 Dr. Rosamund Williams - World Health Organization


Contact: Peter Lundström, ReAct. +46 (0) 709 37 15 35, peter.lundstrom@medsci.uu.se