Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 33
33
Accepted
Phage therapy shows AMR promise but faces significant clinical, licensing, and testing barriers.
Recommendation
Another area of research interest is phage therapy, which involves using viruses as antimicrobials to kill bacteria and is less likely to lead to resistance.84 Dr Partridge told us that in his view phage therapy holds great promise as a way of treating infections, but also that there are numerous barriers to their further development and use in the NHS.85 We asked UKHSA why phages are not being widely used to address AMR, who stressed the need for better clinical trials and research to ensure they will be effective. We also heard that there are licensing and testing impediments in the UK which need to be resolved.86
Government Response Summary
The government states the recommendation has been implemented, committing over £88 million to AMR research, funding horizon scanning for innovations like phage therapy, and supporting various research units and high-priority AMR trials.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 6.2 The government is committed to ensuring evidence informs AMR policy, through providing research funding aligned with the NAP top 10 research priorities, collaborating on public sector research and considering international activity that could inform the government’s approach to AMR. 6.3 Through the NIHR, DHSC has invested over £88 million in funding for AMR. DHSC also funds the NIHR Innovation Observatory, which provides horizon scanning to support adoption of cutting-edge innovations into policy and practice. The Global AMR Innovation Fund funds vital research to benefit low- and middle-income countries where the burden of AMR is highest. 6.4 Over the course of this parliament, the government is investing over £1 billion to enhance domestic biosecurity capabilities, to strengthen protection from the growing threat from animal diseases. Funding marks the next phase of investment into establishing a Network of National Biosecurity Centres. 6.5 The NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAI) and AMR, a partnership between UKHSA and University of Oxford, will identify the most efficient and cost-effective approaches for the detection, surveillance, investigation and reduction of HCAI and AMR. UKHSA continues to support evidence generation to inform wider access to alternative antimicrobial therapeutics, such as bacteriophages. 6.6 NHSE publishes a monthly AMR evidence bulletin and annual horizon scans for AMR innovation. NHSE has an active role on steering groups of high-priority AMR research studies, including the Phased-In, BRIT2 and TOUCAN trials. 6.7 VMD funds ongoing research, including novel approaches to surveillance, to understand and mitigate AMR evolution and transmission.