Funding AMR research: the UK Research Councils

John Savill

Medical Research Council - UK

• Encourage and support high-quality

research with the aim of improving

human health.

• Produce skilled researchers.

• Advance and disseminate knowledge and

technology to improve the quality of life

and economic competitiveness in the UK

and worldwide.

• Promote dialogue with the public about

medical research.

MRC mission

MRC investment in research, 2012/13

MRC research expenditure - €926.2 million in 2012/13

• €414.4m on around 400 programmes in MRC research units and institutes (inc €9.9m on studentships).

• €404.1m on around 1,400 grants to researchers in universities, medical schools and research institutes.

• €86.1m on studentships and fellowships in universities, medical schools and research institutes.

Research Councils

NIHR

DEFRA

Patients and carers

UK Government Departments

OSCHR

Medical charities

Parliamentarians Policy-makers

Industry

International

Public

Research community

Universities

NHS

Learned societies

UK Clinical Research Collaboration

The UK: A rich network of funders and researchers

Technology Strategy Board

AMR research in the UK

• Growing concern of AMR: a political and societal priority

• The research councils: broad remits; support AMR across the whole of the research spectrum

Research Councils portfolio: ~€30m per year on AMR

What is needed?

• Collaborative working

• Coordination of key disciplines

• Coordinating research funding – government and other research funders including industry

• Ensuring integration with human/animal healthcare

UK AMR Funders Forum

AMR Funders Forum (AMRFF)

• Made up of representatives from the research councils, governmental bodies and charities

• Led and managed by the MRC

• Has a common vision for AMR research and its implementation

• Will add value to existing programmes

• Will coordinate and/or support the initiation of funding and delivery programmes

• Will raise the profile of the AMR research base in the UK and internationally

AMRFF current membership

• The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)

• DEFRA, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate

• The Department of Health

• The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

• The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

• The Food Standards Agency

• HSC R&D Division, Public Health Agency, Northern Ireland

• *The Medical Research Council (MRC)

• National Institute of Health Research (NIHR)

• The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

• The Science and Technology Facilities Research Council (STFC)

• The Technology Strategy Board (TSB)

• The Wellcome Trust

Research priorities identified

• Understanding resistant bacteria in context: from genomic, through to cellular and host pathogen interaction

• Accelerating therapeutic and diagnostics development: development and revisiting of small molecule antibiotics, new non-small molecule based treatments and diagnostics

• Understanding real world interactions: how resistant bacteria affect their environments and vice versa. New sources of antibiotics

• Behaviour and care: behaviour change in human and animal healthcare settings. New business models needed for antibiotics development

UK spend on AMR (since 2007)

€200m €68.7m

€20.6m

€20.4m

€0.6m €26.6m Therapeutics

Diagnostics

Surveillance

Transmission

Environment

Interventions

Total funding: €337m

Underpinning Alternatives Optimisation Lead compounds

The breadth of current research

Major UK investments: • Understanding bacteria:

Eg: Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection

• Technology to reduce infection:

Eg: Early Warning Sensing Systems i-Sense (EPSRC)

• Links with industry: Eg: New anti-bacterial to treat MRSA (BBSRC)

• Environment: Eg: NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology: modelling antibiotics usage

Current joint initiatives

• 4 x UKCRC Translational Infection Research Initiative consortia, MRC-led joint initiative

University of Oxford, Derrick Crook (genomics to detect transmission)

Imperial, Jonathan Friedland (Health Care Associated Infection and AMR)

University of Cambridge, Sharon Peacock (MRSA transmission)

University of London, Tariq Sadiq (Diagnostics and STIs)

• Environmental and Social Ecology of Human Infectious Diseases (ESEI) MRC-led, as part of LWEC

novel inter-disciplinary approaches to studying the ecology of infectious diseases

Cambridge UKCRC Consortium

Donker, Wallinga and Grundmann, PLoS 2012

UK MRSA investigation network: a case study English referral network :

Case study outcomes

• Whole genome sequencing tools to detect patterns of MRSA transmission

• Transmission modelling within a hospital and between hospitals

• UK hospital: Addenbrooke – Cambridge

Netherlands hospital: University Medical hospital – Groningen

• MRSA rate reflects connectivity of the hospital – more movement and referral between hospitals, less control of MRSA

• Hospitals that share >50 patients / year share homogenous MRSA

Developing international links - highlights

• JPIAMR: MRC lead on behalf of the UK

• Canada: 2 x UK-CIHR Partnership on antimicrobial resistance consortia

University of Cardiff (Tim Walsh) and Canada (Gary Dmitrienko)

University of Warwick (Chris Dowson) and Canada (Anthony Clarke)

• BBSRC partner of Global Strategic Alliance for coordination of research on major infectious diseases of animals and zoonoses

• Currently identifying international opportunities via RCUK offices in China, India and USA

Providing excellent underpinning resources

• Medical Bioinformatics call

Universities of Warwick and Swansea: The MRC Consortium for Medical Microbial Bioinformatics (wide range of research including AMR surveillance and data sharing)

• The Farr Institute: for health informatics research

• Linking with Industry

IMI: the MRC represents the UK

Revisiting old compounds with new science

TSB/MRC Biomedical Catalyst fund

Eg: The use of light activated antimicrobials to prevent catheter related infection. Ivan Parkin, UCL

• Develop new research opportunities

• Academic/private sector • International

• Develop new treatments

• Develop new diagnostics

• Develop surveillance systems

• Uptake by human/animal healthcare providers

The next steps