Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 35
35
Accepted
UK introduced innovative subscription-based model for incentivising new antibiotic development and reduced use.
Conclusion
As part of the 2019–24 NAP, the government introduced a subscription- based model to pay for antibiotics. Instead of paying pharmaceutical companies based on the quantity of antibiotics used, the model pays out a flat-rate subscription fee.92 The aim of the model is to provide sufficient funding to incentivise pharmaceutical companies to invest in developing new antibiotics, while simultaneously facilitating reductions in their overall use (as unnecessary use of antibiotics drives up AMR). This is an innovative model and UK is one of the first countries to test such a payment mechanism.93
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to promote its antibiotic subscription model internationally, has commissioned an evaluability assessment from July 2025 to early 2026 to inform a future evaluation, and will publish assessment scores for contracted products from Spring 2026.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
7.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Target implementation date: Spring 2026 7.2 Building on the UK’s G7 Presidency leadership on antibiotic pull incentives in 2021, the government continues to encourage other countries to pilot and implement pull incentives for antimicrobial products, including via the G7 and G20, to achieve the desired impact on global R&D antibiotic innovation. The government is fostering technical exchange with like-minded countries and sharing UK learnings. This includes participation of workshops and international working groups, such as those hosted by the Global AMR R&D Hub - advocating for partnership working between industry and public sector. 7.3 Working with independent researchers at the NIHR Policy Innovation and Evaluation Research Unit, DHSC has commissioned an evaluability assessment which will take place from July 2025 to early 2026 to assess the quality of data that is available and inform a future evaluation. A future evaluation would investigate the impact of the model on key aspects of antibiotic innovation and distribution, including the pipeline for new antibiotics and the supply chain of antibiotics. 7.4 In the interim, the government is committed to publishing as much material in the public domain about the UK subscription model as possible. This includes the assessment scores for each product that receives a contract, from Spring 2026, to facilitate the evaluation of the overall scheme.