06 Jul 23
By Dave Griffin
Will Quince, UK’s Health Minister, re-confirmed the UK government’s commitment to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at the recent World Health Assembly with an announcement that up to £39 million funding will be made available to the cause via their Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF). This welcome provision of funds includes £25 million support for the early development of new antimicrobials and vaccines and the development of rapid diagnostics to combat life-threatening drug-resistant infections. A raft of life sciences investment followed including in both technology development and regulation.
AMR remains a major threat globally but the UK Government’s Global Framework for 2023-25, destined to support innovative research, will considerably increase our ability to develop new treatments to prevent disease and death across the world. The Framework not only reinforces the UK’s commitment to improving health globally, but further demonstrates their leadership in science and technology.
The framework also supports and strengthens the government’s engagement with international partner organisations including the global AMR research initiatives, CARB-X and GARDP, to whom GAMRIF have granted £24 million over 4 years and £5 million over 2 years, respectively, and a 4-year grant of up to £10 million to Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
tranScrip has a strong anti-infective group who work alongside several companies on antibiotic, antifungal and antiviral development programmes and strongly welcomes this news. We congratulate the UK government in their forward-looking vision. Initiatives such as this will undoubtedly contribute significantly to the fight against drug-resistant, life-threatening bacterial infections.
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