UK Government publishes its Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy

National and international action on treatment, education and monitoring of bacteria must continue to be taken to fight the problem of antimicrobial resistance, said Public Health Minister Anna Soubry as the UK Government published its five-year antimicrobial resistance strategy this week.

Bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to current antibiotic treatments, threatening our ability to carry out routine operations or transplants in the future.

The five-year antimicrobial resistance strategy has three main aims:

• to improve the knowledge and understanding of antimicrobial resistance;
• to conserve and steward the effectiveness of existing treatments;
• to stimulate the development of new antibiotics, diagnostics and novel therapies.

The strategy outlines that steps are being taken to:

• Improve how we prevent and manage infections in people and in animals;
• Improve education and training around the prescribing of antibiotics;
• Collect better data on the resistance of bugs so we can track them more effectively, find the most resistant bacteria and step in earlier where there is resistance to antibiotics;
• Provide funding of up to £4m to set up a new National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit, which will focus on antimicrobial resistance and healthcare associated infections;
• Explore ways to encourage the development of new antibiotics, rapid diagnostics and other treatments by working with industry and across Government.

'This strong, cross government strategy sets out real actions to stay one step ahead and fight antimicrobial resistance both nationally and internationally,' said Soubry.

'But this is really a problem that society has to take on together, through better education, treatment and monitoring of bacteria. Whether you’re a patient, a doctor or a vet, we all have a role to play in prescribing and using antibiotics responsibly.'

The strategy calls upon a wide range of health and Government organisations to contribute to this work. It also highlights the importance of working with the farming, food, retail and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as the academic community and professional bodies.

Welcoming launch of the strategy, ABPI Chief Executive Stephen Whitehead, said: 'The strategy rightly acknowledges that the commercial environment for antibiotic development needs to be addressed and that a balanced approach to this challenge requires consideration of new clinical development pathways within a flexible regulatory framework alongside appropriate financial incentives.'

'It is vitally important that a realistic plan of action is agreed so that all partners can work together to deliver upon the strategic objectives that are outlined within the strategy, building on the success of initiatives that are already in train, including the EU Innovative Medicines Initiative collaboration NewDrugs4BadBugs.'

This is really a problem that society has to take on together, through better education, treatment and monitoring of bacteria

Steve Bates, BioIndustry Association (BIA) Chief Executive, added that the UK bioscience base is eager to play its part in addressing this global challenge.

UK biotech companies, such as Discuva and Cantab Anti-infectives, for example, are using Biomedical Catalyst funding to discover and develop new antimicrobial classes for Gram-negative bacteria.

At the same time, Redx Pharma has attracted significant backing from the UK Government's Regional Growth Fund to support the creation of its Anti-infectives R&D subsidiary.

Although the BIA looks forward to working with government and others to explore innovative mechanisms to stimulate the development of new antimicrobials and rapid diagnostics for infections, 'getting the incentives right globally for investment in this is essential', said Bates.

'We need incentives for pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs that will only be used infrequently and sparingly rather than paid for every pill used. I hope this strategy inspires discussion of new concepts around this agenda to enable commercial companies to engage fully on this vital challenge for society.'

Dr Nicholas Brown, President of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy and Consultant Medical Microbiologist, Addenbrooke’s Hospital Cambridge, said the strategy 'provides a much needed framework through which government can take responsibility for, and initiate steps to protect, the few antibiotics we have that remain effective against resistant bacteria, and through which encouragement of appropriate use of antibiotics across all sectors can be affected.'

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