£10 million research competition launched to tackle antimicrobial resistance
KTN is hosting a webinar on 30th July for the £10M competition to find and develop innovations to fight antimicrobial resistance in humans.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which includes bacterial resistance to existing antibiotics, is on the rise and now poses a significant threat to health across the world. Without a better understanding of how to tackle and prevent AMR, treatable infections could become life threatening and the advancements made in modern medicine over recent decades are at risk of being reversed.
The UK Government is committed to tackling AMR. In 2013, the government published its first UK 5 Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy which sets out strategic, cross-government action to contain the threat of AMR.
In 2016, a Government commissioned review by Lord Jim O’Neill highlighted the need for more research and development to reduce the global threat of AMR – prompting the Government to commit to investment of up to £55 million over five years from 2016/17 towards promoting excellence in AMR research and development.
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New £10 million research competition
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced investment in a £10 million research competition to find and develop innovations that will fight deadly antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans. The investment – delivered in partnership with Innovate UK – will explore scientific solutions to the AMR challenge, by finding new ways to prevent and control infections and developing new therapies, including new antibiotics.
This competition forms part of funding announced in October 2017 at the global ‘Call to Action’ conference by the Wellcome Trust, the United Nations Foundation, and the UK, Ghanaian and Thai governments, to accelerate action in this area. The competition aims to fill existing gaps in research including the development of innovative approaches to tackling AMR and infection control and prevention. It follows the announcement of £30 million to fund research and development projects as part of the Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) in May 2018.
The £10 million will be made available in research grants funded through a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) and is being delivered by Innovate UK on behalf of Department of Health and Social Care, with the aim of supporting the implementation of the five year UK AMR strategy. The SBRI is a well-established scheme which connects public sector challenges with innovative ideas from industry, supporting companies to generate economic growth and enabling improvement in achieving government objectives. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are encouraged to apply.
You can find out more about the scope of this competition on the Innovate UK competition page by clicking here.
Scope & Partnering Webinar, 30th July 2018, 2pm
KTN is hosting a webinar on 30th July 2018 at 2pm to provide information about the scope of the call and other relevant and useful resources allowing time for Q&A. It also aims to support participants to find partners to participate in this competition, through our Meeting Mojo Online Partnering Platform.
Attendees are encouraged to make a 3-minute pitch. This is an excellent way of introducing you, your organisation, and your project ideas or technology offerings to other attendees. The deadline to apply to pitch is 17:00 UK time on Tuesday 24th July, 2018.
You can find out more about the webinar and register here.