What role should the UK play?

The UK has already played a leading role through the implementation of a new pilot which provides a new model for researching and investing in new antibiotics.

But solving antibiotic resistance needs global leaders to develop and implement these kinds of solutions and share those with other governments around the world so that we can work #TogetherForAntibiotics.

Working in partnership is the only way we can tackle the drug resistant infections which could overwhelm health systems. The UK has also taken an early lead in this field, making antibiotic resistance a centrepiece of its agenda during its G7 Presidency.

UK Government has an ambition to lead the world in discovering new antibiotics, but it must work with pharma to make this a reality. They launched their National Action Plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance in 2019, setting out how Britain will achieve its new 20-year vision for a world in which antibiotic resistance is contained and controlled by 2040.

The plans contain the detail for how the UK will address the market failure in antibiotics, with the NHS testing a first-of-its-kind ‘subscription-style’ payment model that will help incentivise companies to develop new drugs needed to tackle resistant infections.