Accelerating the Pace of Antimicrobial Innovation

Innovate UK, LifeArc and Medicines Discovery Catapult join forces to create a new £30m AMR initiative

PACE is a new £30m initiative to support early-stage innovation against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Its creation responds to the increasing global health threat of AMR and the urgent need to grow a pipeline of new antimicrobial tests and treatments.

PACE will focus on removing barriers and connecting the AMR ecosystem to accelerate and strengthen the preclinical AMR pipeline by making it easier for our talented scientists, researchers, and businesses to make progress faster and with more confidence.

As the UK’s largest public-private initiative targeting early-stage antimicrobial drug and diagnostic discovery, PACE will select, invest in and support projects that address the world’s most threatening pathogens.

It will deliver innovations for onward development and investment, moving them closer to clinical trials. By tackling this problem collectively, with a pandemic-style focus, the early translational science community will be supported to deliver the breakthroughs needed. PACE’s first funding call is open, with up to £10 million available to support innovators developing new antimicrobials.

AMR is complex and has been identified as one of the top ten global health threats. Bacteria and other microbes are evolving to become resistant to treatment, driven in large part by our overuse and misuse of antibiotics.

There are not enough current drugs, or drugs in development, to stay ahead of these resistant infections. Half of the antibiotics prescribed today were discovered in the 1950s, with only one new class discovered since the 1980s. It is estimated that by 2050, as many as ten million people could die each year due to AMR if no action is taken.

PACE is a collaboration between Innovate UK, LifeArc and Medicines Discovery Catapult, three leaders in the UK’s health innovation and research community. It harnesses their unique expertise - catalysing and working with the global AMR community to accelerate the speed of innovation to mitigate the risk of AMR.

PACE will bring together the right funding, resources, and partnerships to help innovators progress their early-stage antimicrobial drug and diagnostics projects with greater speed, support and confidence – giving the best AMR innovations the greatest chance of success.

Great ideas need great starts, and new approaches are needed to combat AMR. PACE will apply vital learning from other disease areas, such as cancer and COVID-19, to the problem, where diagnosis and treatment have been transformed in recent years.

It will provide wrap-around support for a diverse range of funded projects with the most transformational potential – from targeted treatments to rapid diagnostics and other innovative developments being driven by the community. More broadly, it will help the sector to better understand patient needs, identify market opportunities and visualise routes to market.

Progress through PACE will mean our science community will be better supported, and the UK can contribute towards a more robust pipeline of tests and treatments, cementing its place as a global leader in life sciences, and ultimately contributing to better patient outcomes.

PACE’s first funding call is now open, with up to £10 million in grant funding initially available to support up to 12 projects focused on developing new treatments for the most threatening microbes and resistance mechanisms.

AMR innovators worldwide are eligible to apply, with projects expected to last up to two years, with total funding of up to £1 million per project. Expressions of interest are invited by 24 November, and an informational webinar will be held on 31 October for interested parties.

Go to paceamr.org.uk