Jointly-funded UK and India research into antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which was announced on Monday this week, will enable the “best research” from both countries to be applied to the issue according to the UK’s Medical Research Council (MRC).
“AMR poses a global challenge to healthcare and agriculture, with antibiotic overuse and misuse, both in agriculture and human medicine, leading to a growing number of bacteria in humans, animals and the environment that are resistant to them,” said MRC’s Head of Infections and Immunity, Dr Jonathan Pearce.
“Our response to this challenge therefore has to span nations and disciplines, with this new funding enabling the UK Research Councils and India’s Department for Biotechnology to bring the best of UK and Indian research to bear against the challenge of AMR.”
The jointly-funded programme, which carries a £13 million budget, was officially launched by the UK Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, Jo Johnson, during a visit to New Delhi.
The visit also marked the launch of the joint UK-India Strategic Group on AMR, which has been tasked with agreeing priority areas for the combined research into AMR and the development of collaborative approaches across research disciplines to tackle AMR.