November 5 deadline for AMR innovators to share PACE £6 million
6 Oct 2025
One of the UK’s largest public-private initiatives for antimicrobial drug and diagnostic development is inviting participants for its third funding round, in aid of global health.
PACE – Pathways to Antimicrobial Clinical Efficacy – will focus on projects tackling bacterial afflictions with the highest levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), notably those involving lower respiratory, urinary tract and bloodstream infections.
It will offer up to £6 million to back as many as eight early-stage therapies designed to tackle resistant bacteria. Would-be entrants have one month to register interest.
The maximum permissible for an individual project is £1 million and the funding is intended to cover initiatives for a two year period. The scheme is open to suitable applicants across the globe.
UK special envoy on antimicrobial resistanc,e professor Dame Sally Davies, said: “By strengthening the pipeline of new antibiotics and diagnostics, PACE gives us the precision tools we need to stay ahead of this crisis.
“This latest round of funding is a crucial investment in translational science and scientists, whose work is essential to safeguarding health and protecting future generations from drug-resistant infections.”
Last year, an article in The Lancet predicted that bacterial AMR could cost the world US$100 trillion by 2050 and be responsible for an annual 8 million deaths.
While substantial efforts are underway to combat this, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that more than 80% of recently approved AMR agents bore similarities to existing drug classes, suggesting their potential to be limited.
The latest round of PACE funding is just part of an overall £30 million anti-AMR investment, delivered in conjunction with Innovate UK, LifeArc and the Medicines Discovery Catapult.
But, talking at the first Global AMR Innovators’ Conference (GAMRIC) where the PACE announcement was delivered, the former chair of the Government review on AMR warned that it was not only a health problem but also “an economic time bomb”.
Economist Lord Jim O’Neill added: “If we allow antibiotics to lose their effectiveness, the cost will be staggering: higher healthcare bills, reduced productivity and millions of lives cut short. That’s why we need new solutions and why initiatives like PACE are so important.
“By supporting precision medicine in antimicrobials, PACE is ensuring the pipeline doesn’t run dry.”
Expressions of interest can be made here before the deadline: 23:59 GMT on Wednesday, 5 November 2025.
For more detail about the funding round and to register for an informational webinar on 8 October, visit here.
Eppendorf Award: The application process for the Eppendorf Award for Young European Investigators honouring outstanding work in biomedical research is now open. Scientists up to the age of 35 with advanced degrees and conducting research in Europe have until 15 January next year to enter for the award, presented in partnership with Nature and valued at €20,000. Apply here.
Pic; Mathurin Napoly Matnapo
