CBRC-funded projects showcased by the European Union

CBRC-funded projects have been showcased by the European Union for their work on antimicrobial drug resistance (AMR).

The EU has been strongly committed to combating AMR for over 10 years and has prioritised research in this field.

Projects showcased include two CBRC-supported projects at UCL: the Collaborative HIV and Anti-HIV Drug Resistance Network (CHAIN) and the ‘antiresdev’ project looking at the effects of antibiotic administration on the emergence and persistence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The CHAIN project aims to close the gaps in current knowledge on HIV drug resistance to existing drugs and to identify novel resistance mechanisms of new drugs. Current European research on HIV drug resistance is fragmented making it difficult to fight against the spread of anti-HIV resistance. The project, which received an EC contribution of €10m, aims to provide a structural integration of these efforts and knowledge.

The antiresdev project, which received an EC contribution of €5,368,088, is looking at the impact of different antibiotics on the prevalence of resistant bacteria in humans and on the composition of the indigenous microbiotas at various body sites. All European countries are seeing a steady decrease in antibiotic effectiveness and this trend is likely to become more pronounced. Knowledge of the dynamics of resistance emergence should enable governments and health care providers to formulate strategies to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Europe.

Both projects are featured in ‘EU Research on Antimicrobial Resistance’ published by the European Union 2011.