The aim of this area of investment is to support and enable UK researchers to carry out unique research, in collaboration with colleagues around the world, to improve our understanding of antimicrobial resistance and find new solutions to tackle it.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites stop responding to the antimicrobials used to treat, prevent or control infections in humans, animal and plants as well as in human-made and natural environments.
This is resulting in an ever-increasing list of infections and diseases that are no longer susceptible to many commonly used treatments, which poses a threat to lives and livelihoods globally.
UKRI supports research and innovation to improve our understanding of AMR and to deliver innovative and effective solutions. We do this in a number of ways, including:
- applicant-led funding
- targeted initiatives and strategic programmes
- international and collaborative partnerships
UKRI AMR flagship programme
This programme is part of the UKRI ‘tackling infections’ strategic theme which aims to better prepare for future disease epidemics and to halt the slow-moving pandemic of antimicrobial resistance.
The scope of the AMR flagship programme includes resistance within and between all reservoirs of AMR which can be tackled through this programme, including:
- resistance by all microbes (for instance, bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoa)
- animals (including aquaculture, companion, farmed and wild)
- humans
- plants (including trees)
- natural environments
- human-made environments (such as buildings and sewage systems)
- the food chain
- the interplay with society and human behaviour, economics and policy
- taking systems-level, One Health and planetary approaches
The aims of our AMR flagship initiative are to support transdisciplinary research to:
- better understand, detect, and disrupt the emergence of AMR in animals, humans, and plants using a One Health approach
- reduce, replace, optimise, improve access to and innovate the use of antimicrobials
- improve our understanding of these threats by stimulating and building transdisciplinary research capacity to transform our understanding of AMR by applying and developing a diverse range of methods
- facilitate evidence-based decision-making through timely, high-impact, and independent research on AMR that meets the needs of policymakers, practitioners, industry, civil and broader society
This programme aligns with the UKRI commitments within the UK five-year action plan for AMR 2024 to 2029 and is a two-phase investment plan.
Phase 1 of the programme is investing £4.8 million over four years to support eight transdisciplinary networks to connect and expand UK AMR communities, building knowledge and skills to transform our understanding of AMR.
Phase 2 will support more focused, larger-scale transdisciplinary research and innovation projects to deliver novel understanding and insight into current and future AMR threats and effective solutions.
International partnerships
UKRI participates in the EU Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR), a partnership involving 29 countries to support transnational research to curb AMR with a One Health approach.
UKRI is contributing to the development of a new Horizon Europe European Partnership on One Health Antimicrobial Resistance (EUP OHAMR) which will follow on from the JPIAMR. The partnership will begin later in 2025 and run for 10 years. In this partnership, UKRI will continue to invest in research funding through participation in transnational research calls, and will also be leading a package of work in the partnership managed by Innovate UK. It will facilitate the transfer, uptake and valorisation of knowledge generated from research and innovation projects funded under JPIAMR and EUP OHAMR.
The UKRI-Southeast Asia collaboration on infectious diseases initiative explores infectious diseases with antimicrobial resistance and epidemics potential of relevance to Southeast Asia. The collaboration supports three year bilateral and multilateral partnerships between UK researchers and researchers in:
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- Thailand
- Philippines
- Vietnam
- Singapore
India-UK partnership to address farmed animal diseases and health
UKRI in partnership with the Indian Government jointly committed £8.9 million to fund seven projects to improve farmed animal health and welfare in the UK and India.
Other current investments
The National Biofilms Innovation Centre is a £16 million Innovation Knowledge Centre funded by BBSRC and Innovate UK. It plays a crucial role in addressing AMR by focusing on biofilms, which are a major cause of antibiotic resistance and chronic infections.
It brings together researchers, industry leaders and policymakers to:
- drive interdisciplinary research, innovation, and knowledge exchange
- deliver breakthrough science and technologies to control and exploit biofilms
- advance biofilm science and innovation globally
The Pathways to Antimicrobial Clinical Efficacy (PACE) programme is a £30 million initiative jointly supported by Innovate UK, LifeArc and the Medicines Discovery Catapult to accelerate and strengthen the pre-clinical AMR pipeline. It aims to establish a platform for UK-based early-stage research and development projects in medicine discovery and diagnostics, making them more attractive for investment and readily available for medical treatments.
UKRI, through MRC, funds the Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter. The centre focuses on performing cutting-edge interdisciplinary mycology research (including anti-fungal resistance) and on training the next generation of scientists. It is an internationally recognised world-leading centre of excellence in this field.
The Centre for Doctoral Training in Engineering Solutions for Antimicrobial Resistance, funded by EPSRC and BBSRC, will train the next generation of industry, public sector, and academic leaders to advance cutting-edge research and development, and engineer and coordinate solutions for the challenge of AMR.
Research at the BBSRC Quadram Institute is aiming to gain understanding of mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance and the epidemiology of resistant pathogens, including in:
- AMR emergence
- survival strategies
- AMR transmission
- control in the food chain (including biofilms, food and food processing plants), in both human and animal microbiomes
The Quadram Institute is working with stakeholders to develop new antimicrobial drugs and intervention strategies, and genomic resources and tools. This enables identification and surveillance of pathogens and AMR in food and across the One Health paradigm.