Britain's spending on research into drug-resistant infections is unacceptably small, say the authors of a study analysing research funding.

The Chief Medical Officer for England has described antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a “ticking time bomb” that threatens to make routine infections as deadly as they were in the 19^th century.

However, the analysis published today in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy found that AMR received less than four per cent of funding for infectious disease research in the UK between 1997 and 2010.

The study was carried out by researchers from UCL, Imperial College Business School and the National Centre for Infection Prevention and Management at Imperial College London, and Public Health England.

Michael Head of UCL, who led the study, said: “The study showed that antimicrobial resistance desperately needs to be a priority topic for funders and policymakers, not just in the UK but worldwide. The National Institute for Health Research demonstrates a welcome UK commitment to this area via a themed research funding call, and the detailed UK Department of Health 5-year Action Plan is also published this month, but it is important that organisations globally follow suit with intentions to invest in high quality research. This is very much an international problem.” 

Professor Rifat Atun from Imperial College Business School, one of the authors of the paper, said: “Antimicrobial resistance is rising globally and in the UK at an alarming rate. Failure to invest in antimicrobial research means we are poorly prepared to manage the rising drug resistant infections with major health and economic consequences. Time is ripe for strong leadership to ensure sustained and targeted funding for global and UK-level action.”

The researchers identified 6,165 studies that were funded during the 14 year period, covering all infectious disease research, representing a total investment of £2.6 billion. Of those studies, 337 studies were for antimicrobial resistance research, comprising 5.5 per cent of total infectious disease research projects. These received £102 million, only 3.9 per cent of the total spend, with a median award of approximately £120,000. Thirty-four percent (£34.8million) of the total funding for antimicrobial resistance was related to global health.

The study included only publically or charitably funded research due to the lack of public data about privately-funded research.

The study highlights drug-resistant tuberculosis as an example of a growing problem, with an estimated 630,000 cases worldwide. This and other multi-drug resistant bacteria such as E. coli are areas of potentially the greatest future burden. Hence, “there is a compelling case for increased funding for antimicrobial resistance research, particularly in disciplines such as epidemiology, modelling, economics, policy, and behavioural research,” say the authors.

Based on a news release from Oxford Journals.

Reference

MG Head et al. 'Systematic analysis of funding awarded for antimicrobial resistance research to institutions in the UK, 1997-2010' Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, doi: 10.1093/jac/dkt349