The former Health Secretary Sajid Javid has announced extra investment from the UK to develop innovative treatments for drug-resistant infections. £4.5 million in investment has been made by the Government’s Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) to support the Global Antibiotic Research and Development partnership (GARDP) to develop new treatments.
Now, the UK has announced an extra £19 million in GARDP’s programmes, including those tackling neonatal sepsis, hospital-acquired bacterial infections and pneumonia.
The funding will also be directed at the development of a novel treatment for gonorrhoea, a condition that the WHO has identified as urgently needing new antibiotic treatments.
“The consequences of not addressing this silent pandemic now could be catastrophic and result in a future where we are unable to treat common illnesses such as pneumonia and infections in new-borns with modern medicines”, said the Health Secretary.
Mr Javid promoted the UK’s leading role in bolstering global health security during the recent Indian Global Forum. The new funding commitment forms part of the UK Government’s 20-year vision and 5-year National Action Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance.
“Together we are leading efforts to combat AMR where the burden of infection is greatest, and we will use this investment to develop new treatments for drug-resistant infections to protect the world’s most vulnerable”, said Professor Dame Sally Davies, UK Special Envoy on AMR.
