New review to set out plan for tackling antibiotic resistance

The government has commissioned a wide-reaching independent review to set out an action plan for future efforts to tackle the spread of antibiotic resistance.

Led by internationally renowned economist Jim O'Neill and co-funded and hosted by the Wellcome Trust, the review will explore the economic issues surrounding antimicrobial resistance, while devising ways of encouraging and accelerating the discovery and development of new generations of antibiotics.

Specifically, it will look at the development, use and regulatory environment surrounding antimicrobials to find better ways of incentivising their creation, as well as highlighting the need to conserve antimicrobial drugs so they remain effective for as long as possible.

Efforts will also be made to increase international cooperation on this issue, including much closer working with low and middle-income countries.

Prime minister David Cameron said: "If we fail to act, we are looking at an almost unthinkable scenario where antibiotics no longer work, and we are cast back into the dark ages of medicine where treatable infections and injuries will kill once again."

Last year, a five-year antimicrobial resistance strategy was launched by the Department of Health to coordinate efforts to better prevent and manage infections in healthcare settings, thereby halting the spread of superbugs.