University of Liverpool receives funding boost to tackle antimicrobial resistance

The University of Liverpool (UoL) and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) will tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through a new project which aims to use a personalised health approach to prevent and treat AMR.  

The project has been awarded £3.54 million to purchase equipment for the real-time measurement of drug concentrations in patients. The aim of the project is to individualise treatments for patients so they receive the right dose of medication for infections.

Professor William Hope, UoL, said: “Our goal is to find ways to move away from a “one size fits all” to a fully individualised approach where each patient receives the right drug and dose for their infection and knows whether they are well positioned to receive maximum effect from their antimicrobial therapy. Liverpool is building the infrastructure and knowledge to prevent AMR from occurring and to provide treatment options for patients that have few and sometimes no treatment options.”

The equipment will also enable the rapid sequencing of bacteria from patients, performing pharmacogenetic analyses and real time pharmacodynamic analyses. These approaches will be unified using artificial intelligence and deep learning in collaboration with the University of Liverpool’s Department of Computer Science.

Dr Adam Roberts, LSTM, said: “This award is great news for Liverpool and the Northwest. We have a wealth of world-class experts here focussed on mitigating the effects of AMR. We work at local, national and international levels and this funding will allow us to build local infrastructure which will provide direct patient benefit in a sustainable manner”

Chief Medical Officer, professor Dame Sally Davies, said: “Without dedicated efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance, modern medicine as we know it could be lost. Funding new and innovative approaches to tackle the problem is crucial, and this substantial capital funding will be a significant step towards strengthening UK-based AMR initiatives.”