UK joins the fight on superbugs

Antibiotic Research UK will announce at its Annual General meeting today its first research programme to tackle superbugs

Superbugs are becoming an increasing problem in hospitals as bacteria become more and more resistant to our existing antibiotics. 

The research programme, which requires the charity to raise £120,000, will focus on an under-researched area of finding drugs that can break antibiotic resistance allowing the life of current antibiotics to be extended. Some 2000 existing drugs used to treat any disease will be tested as 'antibiotic resistance breakers' to see if any of them can work alongside the antibiotic to break resistance.

Professor Garner, the charity’s Chief Executive, said: "This is an exciting opportunity to look at drugs such as those used for heart disease, arthritis, psychiatric disorders etc to see if they when put together with an antibiotic can kill superbugs. The advantage of the approach is that it is faster and cheaper than trying to find a new antibiotic from scratch. We need the public to help us fund this programme which we anticipate will start in early 2016."

The charity aims to develop its first new antibiotic therapy by the early 2020s. The charity hopes to help in filling the hole left by many of the big pharmaceutical companies who have withdrawn from antibiotic drug development. The charity needs to raise up to £30 million on the next 5-7 years, through a combination of traditional fundraising, corporate sponsorship, giving by trusts and foundations as well as newer fundraising methods such as crowd funding over the next five years.