Geneva, 21 February 2024 – The Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) announced today an additional investment of £2.5 million from the UK Government. The new funding through the Department for Health and Social Care’s Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) will support GARDP’s continuing activities towards building a portfolio of new antibiotic treatments to tackle drug-resistant infections that pose the greatest threat to human health.  

The announcement follows GARDP’s launch of its 2024-2028 strategy, which calls for €220 million to fund the research and development of up to six new and reformulated antibiotic treatments. This funding will also help to facilitate access to at least three treatments for those populations who need them most, including women, children and infants, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).  

“To achieve our goal of tackling antibiotic resistance, which is already affecting millions of people around the world, we greatly appreciate donor leaders, like the UK, who have prioritized this global health challenge,” said Manica Balasegaram, GARDP’s Executive Director. “The UK Government’s continued support is fundamental to successfully delivering new antibiotic treatments that are urgently needed.”  

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest global health threats. Nearly five million deaths are associated with drug-resistant bacterial infections each year and, if left unchecked, this death toll is expected to rise considerably.  

“In its first five years, GARDP has proven it can accelerate effective treatments towards market authorization—such as zoliflodacin, the novel first-in-class oral antibiotic to combat drug-resistant gonorrhoea,” said Professor Dame Sally Davies, UK Special Envoy for AMR. “We need global collaboration to tackle AMR, which is why the UK is proud to continue our partnership with GARDP to drive forward further antibiotic R&D and access for the benefit of LMICs.” 

GARDP’s non-profit partnership model puts public health needs at the centre of antibiotic drug development. Its recent success in delivering a new treatment against multidrug-resistant gonorrhoea demonstrates a cost-effective and responsible use of donor funding.  

GARDP’s integrated R&D and access approach includes negotiating collaboration and license agreements, and ensuring equal partnership with all stakeholders, particularly LMICs.  

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has now invested a total of £23 million in GARDP’s programmes since 2018. These funds have contributed to the largest pivotal phase 3 trial for gonorrhoea, the development of improved treatments for neonatal sepsis—a leading cause of death in newborns—as well as new treatments for serious bacterial infections in adults and children.  

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About GARDP 
The Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) is a not-for-profit organization that develops new antibiotic treatments for drug-resistant bacterial infections that pose the greatest threat to human health, and makes them accessible to the people who need them. It puts public health needs at the centre of antibiotic drug development to address the immediate crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Its work is funded by the governments of Australia, Germany, Japan, Monaco, the Netherlands, the Public Health Agency of Canada, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Canton of Geneva, the European Union (via the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority), as well as the RIGHT Foundation, Wellcome and other private foundations. GARDP was created by the World Health Organization and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) in 2016 and legally registered as the GARDP Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland in 2018. www.gardp.org  

About the Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) 
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) is the UK Government department which is responsible for helping people to live more independent, healthier lives for longer. The partnership with GARDP is funded by DHSC as part of the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF). GAMRIF is a One Health UK Aid fund that supports research and development around the world to reduce the threat of antimicrobial resistance in humans, animals, and the environment for the benefit of people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).  

GAMRIF core objectives are to: 

• Develop innovative One Health solutions to tackle AMR 
• Increase availability of context-specific, accessible, and affordable innovations for LMICs 
• Establish international research partnerships with industry, academia, and governments 
• Collaborate with and leverage additional funding from other global donors 

The Global AMR Innovation Fund – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)