Oxford University to create institute to fight antimicrobial resistance after Ineos donation
The donation from Ineos will create a new institute to tackle the "silent pandemic"
After its recent victory in rapidly designing a vaccine against COVID-19, the University of Oxford is to create a new institute to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with the help of a £100 million donation from petrochemical company, Ineos.
With the financial boost from Ineos, the new Ineos Oxford Institute (IOI) will benefit from the university's "internationally outstanding" expertise and facilities and will create collaborative and cross-disciplinary links across the sciences.
Based between two sites in Oxford, the IOI will link the University’s Department of Chemistry with the Department of Zoology in the new Life & Mind Building, which is currently under construction.
The majority of global antibiotic consumption by volume is used for agriculture, and drug use in animals is contributing significantly to their lessening effectiveness in humans. The IOI will, therefore, concentrate on designing novel antimicrobials just for animals, as well as exploring new human drugs.
As well as drug discovery work, the IOI intends to partner with other global leaders in the field of AMR to raise awareness and promote responsible use of antimicrobial drugs.
The academic team will contribute to research on the type and extent of drug-resistant microbes across the world. It will also seek to attract and train the brightest minds in science to tackle this ‘silent pandemic’.
According to the university, each year, AMR causes an estimated 1.5 million excess deaths; by 2050, this figure could rise to in excess of 10 million.
In addition, its predicted global economic toll of $100 trillion by mid-century. makes it arguably the greatest healthcare and economic challenge facing the world post-COVID.
Since the 1980s, drug discovery has made little progress in developing new antibiotics, probably the direct result of the lack of funding and/or scientific interest.
Perhaps now, after living with coronavirus, such threats to global health have come into sharp relief, as have the benefits — and success — of working collaboratively to find solutions.
"We must be looking right now for new antibiotics with the same urgency as we have been for vaccines. The consequence of continued complacency doesn’t bear thinking about," cautioned Surgeon David Sweetnam, Adviser to the Ineos Oxford Institute.
Professor Louise Richardson, Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford, said: "It is another example of a powerful partnership between public and private institutions to address global problems. Oxford played a crucial role in the early development of antibiotics so it is only appropriate that we take the lead in developing a solution to antimicrobial resistance."
Related News
-
News Patients vs Pharma – who will the Inflation Reduction Act affect the most?
The Inflation Reduction Act brought in by the Biden administration in 2022 aims to give better and more equitable access to healthcare in the USA. However, pharma companies are now concerned about the other potential costs of such legislation. -
News CPHI Podcast Series: What does the changing US Pharma market mean for industry and patients alike?
In this week's episode of the CPHI Podcast Series Lucy Chard, Digital Editor for CPHI Online is joined by James Manser to discuss the political and market changes in the US pharma field. -
News CPHI Barcelona Annual Report illuminates industry trends for 2024
The CPHI Annual Survey comes into it’s 7th year to report on the predicted trends for 2024. Over 250 pharma executives were asked 35 questions, with their answers informing the industry landscape for the next year, spanning all major pharma marke... -
News Which 10 drugs are open to price negotiation with Medicare in the USA?
The Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services, under the Biden administration in the USA, has released a list of the 10 drugs that will be open to price negotiations as part of the new legislation under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). -
News EU Medical Devices Regulation causes unintended disappearances of medical devices for children, doctors state
Doctor groups and associations have appealed to the EU to correct the EU Medical Devices Regulation law that may cause unintended shortages of essential drug and medical devices for children and rare disease patients. -
News 10 Major Drug Approvals So Far in 2023
Last year, 37 novel drugs were approved by the FDA, this was a high number for such a category, and covered many fields including oncology, demonstrating how promising further research is, and how it is only continuing to build. To date, there are alre... -
News Detecting Alzheimer's disease with a simple lateral flow test
A novel rapid diagnostic test for early-stage Alzheimer's disease has been developed using a biomarker binder from Aptamer Group along with technology from Neuro-Bio, the neurodegenerative disease experts. -
News CPHI Podcast Series: outsourcing and manufacturing trends
Listen to the CPHI Podcast Series this June to hear Gil Roth of the PBOA speak with Digital Editor Lucy Chard about the biggest trends and topics to watch in pharma outsourcing and manufacturing at the minute.
Position your company at the heart of the global Pharma industry with a CPHI Online membership
-
Your products and solutions visible to thousands of visitors within the largest Pharma marketplace
-
Generate high-quality, engaged leads for your business, all year round
-
Promote your business as the industry’s thought-leader by hosting your reports, brochures and videos within your profile
-
Your company’s profile boosted at all participating CPHI events
-
An easy-to-use platform with a detailed dashboard showing your leads and performance