On 6 July 2021, the UK government published its Life Sciences Vision policy. It described this policy as a “plan to create a thriving sector, and tackle the major causes of death and disease”.
It sets out how, over the next ten years, the UK will tackle some of the major diseases that affect our society. This includes dementia, cancer, heart disease and obesity, to name a few. However, the limelight has almost entirely missed antibiotic resistance; just 60 of the 20,000 words is devoted to this threat. This is despite the fact that the global health impact of drug-resistant infections is far greater than that of COVID-19; it is projected to be responsible for 10 million deaths a year, globally, by 2050.
Antibiotic resistance in the Life Sciences Vision policy
The document mentions the importance of antimicrobial resistance as a feature at the 2021 G7 Leaders Communiques. It also stresses the importance of a “continued, concerted global action to combat” it. It states that it will be critical for future pandemic preparedness, and emphasises the UK Government’s commitment to continuing to play a prominent role in the area.
Our view
Professor Colin Garner, CEO of Antibiotic Research UK, said: “I welcome the publication of the UK’s Life Sciences Vision ‘Build back better: our plan for growth. As the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson MP says in his introduction, we have never been more indebted to the astonishing power of life sciences.
“But antibiotics are the pinnacle of that astonishing power, and they are no longer working effectively. The threat of antibiotic-resistance requires more than a short paragraph in a policy document. We need to invest a significant amount of money and expertise into tackling it, before it’s too late.”
Why it’s so important
Antibiotic resistance is affecting people’s lives today. We are seeing a year-on-year increase in cases of resistance, despite a drop in antibiotic prescribing. COVID-19 has been the equivalent of a forest fire, while antibiotic resistance is a slow burn, and one for which there is no ‘quick fix’.
We call on the UK government to give this area much greater prominence and funding in its forward thinking. In the meantime, we continue to fund research that will help us achieve our vision of a world free from deaths caused by drug-resistant infections. If you want to support our work, please make a donation today.