Campaigners have called for a “quantum” increase in funding after an expert predict warned drug-resistance could be responsible for ten million deaths a year.
The latest report from Jim O’Neill, an economist conducting an inquiry for Prime Minister David Cameron, said the worldwide toll of deaths from uncontrollable infections will reach this level by 2050.
Professor O’Neill is due to publish a series of recommendations by next summer to tackle antimicrobial resistance – the problem of bacteria and viruses evolving to evade drugs.
But the new charity, Antibiotic Research UK, said the world had already reached a “tipping point.”
Chief executive Professor Colin Garner said: “We have reached the tipping point, where there is general agreement that new antibiotics, better antibiotic stewardship of existing antibiotics and better diagnostics are needed.
“We now require to turn words into action which requires a quantum increase in funding for this neglected disease area.”
The report said the impact on the world economy of failing to tackle antimicrobial resistance by 2050 would be up to 100 trillion dollars.
Professor O’Neill said: "Drug-resistant infections already kill hundreds of thousands a year globally, and by 2050 that figure could be more than 10 million.”
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