A US-UK partnership will spend hundreds of millions of dollars over the next five years to tackle the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance. The Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator, or CARB-X, brings together the US government’s Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) and Boston University with the UK’s Wellcome Trust and AMR Centre.

The alliance is the result of President Obama's 2015 Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (CARB) initiative and a review performed for the UK government and Wellcome Trust. Wellcome director Jeremy Farrar said many drugs that are often taken for granted no longer work, presenting one of the biggest threats to future global health and economic security. “I hope our new transatlantic partnership marks the beginning of a wider global effort to prevent untreatable bacterial infections from claiming millions of lives,” he said.

CARB-X hopes to rejuvenate the pipeline of antimicrobial drugs and diagnostics and will coordinate R&D funding of at least $350 million. Through the Biomedical Advanced Research Authority (BARDA), the US government will provide $30 million during the first year and up to $250 million over five years. The AMR Centre, a UK public-private enterprise formed in February 2016 to develop antibiotics and diagnostics, will provide $14 million in year one, and up to $100 million over five years. Wellcome will contribute further funding as required.

The money will be used to help small- and medium-sized companies advance their R&D projects into clinical trials. CARB-X will support a range of products through early preclinical development to the point where they can be taken forward by public or private investors.