BRIEF—UK-Russia AMR partnership announced

Leaders of the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the UK and Russia have announced a formal agreement to work together.

The AMR Centre (AMRC), in northern England, will collaborate with Russian science and technology organization, the Skolkovo Foundation, which is based in Moscow. They will work in partnership to identify opportunities for joint UK-Russian funding to support collaborative projects between organizations in both countries.

The agreement, announced during the Genesis Conference at the QEII Centre in London on Thursday, and also at the UK-Russia Healthcare & Life Sciences Forum in Moscow, will see the AMRC support Skolkovo-based companies working on pre-clinical development of new therapies and diagnostics for AMR.

The center will offer assistance in the form of research and development expertise and help with funding applications, including applications for international funding from its alliance partner, CARB-X, a $400m global initiative backed by the US government and the UK charity the Wellcome Trust.

Peter Jackson, executive director of the ARMC, said: “AMR is a very serious issue in Russia and we are pleased to be able to collaborate with Russian companies working in this field and offer our assistance and advice with funding and clinical expertise. There is a deep well of scientific resource in Russia which can be directed at this challenge and we will use our knowledge and contacts to help coordinate activity and bring on projects which might not otherwise progress.”

“We are part of a number of UK government initiatives to build partnerships overseas and this will be a central part of our mission as we move into 2018.”