About Antibiotic Research UK

Bacterial antibiotic resistance is on the rise globally, threatening modern medicine as we know it.

Resistance to antibiotics arises when natural bacteria in our body are no longer affected by the antibiotics we use. The resulting antibiotic-resistant infection can be fatal. Nearly every medical procedure, from cancer treatment and organ transplantation to hip or joint replacement, is dependent on effective antibiotics (see how procedures would be affected).

This impending disaster is why our charity needs to be successful. If we don’t act now, the antibiotic era will pass, and our children and grandchildren will fail to have the benefits of antibiotics that current generations have enjoyed.

Read our latest news

Who we are

Antibiotic Research UK (ANTRUK) was founded in 2014 to tackle antibiotic resistance. As a virtual charity, we don’t have a central office, and this allows us to spend more of your donation on research into new antibiotics and allows world-class experts to be an integral part of our work, wherever they are based.

 

Fighting antibiotic resistance, today and tomorrow

Antibiotic resistance research at university laboratory

ANTRUK aims to raise sufficient funds over the next five years to bring at least one new antibiotic treatment to market by the early 2020’s. The research we fund will be carried out by universities and businesses in the UK and overseen by the antibiotic-resistance experts that make up our Science Committee.

We also aim to provide public and professional education and information for patients. Since the charity’s formation it has raised over £1 million, with year-on-year growth of at least 30%.

Take a look at our annual reports

Support our research and education programmes

Antibiotic Research UK logo

All donations will go towards supporting our research into new antibiotic therapies, and will help to fund the education programmes that we'll will be rolling out nationwide. Help us to ensure a safer future for everyone.


How ANTRUK began

ANTRUK began life at an ‘Antibiotic Discovery UK’ meeting in January 2014. These meetings were a mixture of scientists and clinicians from top UK universities and businesses, focussed on kickstarting antibiotic drug development in order to face the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.

Founded and chaired by Professor Anthony Coates, Professor of Medical Microbiology (St Georges, University of London), the group met regularly – it was at one such meeting in early 2014 that Colin Garner, Professor of Molecular Cancer Epidemiology (University of York) proposed a charity be created to support the cause they all felt so strongly about.

The Charity was registered with the Charity Commission in July 2014 (registered charity no 1157884) and the first AGM was held on Monday 18 August 2014 at the Royal York Hotel, York.

Did you know?

Where did Antibiotic Research UK get its name?
(click to find out)

A

‘Antibiotic Research UK (ANTRUK)’ was the winning entry in a naming competition, suggested by a student at the University of Oxford.

Our vision, purpose, mission and values

A world free from deaths caused by drug-resistant infections.

 

Contact Us

For further information about Antibiotic Research UK, our work, or to get involved in fundraising events, get in touch

Get in touch