Biopharma company GSK and the Fleming Initiative are collaborating on six research programmes, called Grand Challenges, which seek to find new ways to slow the progress of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The most recent WHO Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance Report 2025 indicates that around one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections were caused by bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Deaths due to AMR are set to rise to 8.22 million each year by 2050, from 4.71 million in 2021.
The Fleming Initiative, established by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in 2022, brings together scientists, policymakers, clinicians, commercial partners to focus on antimicrobial resistance at a global scale. The new collaboration seeks to bring impetus to a vital field of research which has seen a declining workforce, and has struggled to attract the necessary scientific expertise.
“Antimicrobial resistance is a global challenge that no single lab or institution can solve alone,” said Professor Hugh Brady, president of Imperial College London. “Tackling the rise of drug-resistant infections can only be done by bringing together a wide range of expertise – from across science, industry and policy, alongside public engagement.”
The six projects will begin in 2026, and are fully funded, backed by £45 million from GSK for three years.
One will look at accelerating the discovery of new antibiotics for Gram-negative bacterial infections. Described as “one of the most concerning threats to human health,” these bacteria, which include E.coli, have a complex cell envelope defence system which prevents antibiotics from accumulating inside the cell, and pumps that eject the antibiotics that do. A range of experts, from Imperial College London’s Drug Discovery Hub, will partner with scientists from GSK and Agilent Technologies using advanced automation to generate novel data sets on a wide range of molecules.
This will lead to an artificial intelligence(AI)/machine learning model which will increase the ability to design antibiotics for multi-drug-resistant Gram-negative infections: the partners described this as 'turning the power of supercomputers on the superbugs'.
Another project looks at accelerating the discovery of drugs to combat fungal infections; this programme will initially focus on the fungus Aspergillus. This fungus leads to around two million infections each year with mortality rates upwards of 46%. The project will use AI to identify “the unique vulnerabilities of fungi to support development of new targeted drugs.”
A third project looks at improving understanding of how the immune systems respond to drug-resistant bacteria, starting with Staphylococcus aureus, one of the most dangerous drug resistant pathogens worldwide. Vaccines against this pathogen have so far failed in clinical trials due to lack of detailed, human-relevant data on bacterial behaviour to immune responses. For this project, researchers will replicate, under strictly controlled and safe conditions, surgical site infections to provide key data on infection progressions and the human immune response to Staphylococcus aureus to inform new vaccine development
The fourth project will use disease surveillance and environmental data to create AI models that predict how drug resistant pathogens emerge and spread. The fifth project, a clinical trial, will seek to improve how and when antibiotics are prescribed.
The sixth project will focus on using international data and research insights to inform policy and public engagement, embed preventative interventions, accelerate R&D, and amplify societal and government action to get ahead of AMR.
In total some 50 multi-disciplinary scientific, clinical and academic roles will be funded by the GSK/Fleming AMR partnership, which will largely be based at Imperial College. Data and insights from these programmes will be widely shared with the aim of seeing the development of new, more effective medicines and vaccines globally.
Tony Wood, chief scientific officer at GSK said: “Together, with scaled datasets, emerging drug modalities and AI-driven models, we will open up new approaches for the discovery of novel antibiotics as well as anticipate and outpace the development of resistance to transform the treatment and prevention of serious infections. Currently, GSK has a promising portfolio of relevant assets in development, many targeting pathogens identified as priorities by WHO and US CDC.”
News of the Grand Challenge programme came as the 80th anniversary of discovery of penicillin was marked. Professor Lord Ara Darzi, Head of the Fleming Initiative said: “Today, in the shadow of 80 years since the Nobel prize for the discovery of penicillin, we’re delighted to see this research progress. We hope this research will be a beacon for the global scientific community and highlight the urgent need for collaborative efforts to tackle the rising global threat of antimicrobial resistance.”
Further reading on antimicrobial resistance:
- What is AMR? Here’s what you need to know about antimicrobial resistance
- AMR: Researchers map antibiotic resistance in livestock waste
- Antimicrobial resistance: How microplastics can increase the spread of AMR
- New UK plan aims to reduce antibiotic misuse and drive AMR innovation
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