UKHSA and PACE make new bacteria available to support research into tackling antimicrobial resistance

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), in collaboration with Pathways to Antimicrobial Clinical Efficacy (PACE), a partnership between Innovate UK, LifeArc, and Medicines Discovery Catapult, has made 5 new collections of drug-resistant bacteria available for researchers to order. This will allow new treatments and diagnostic tests to be checked against contemporary antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns seen in the UK and globally.

AMR happens when bacteria evolve to survive the drugs used to treat them, making some infections harder to treat. It is one of the biggest threats to global health. Resistance evolves quickly, so treatments developed against older bacteria may not work against the resistant infections seen in hospitals and clinics currently.

To check whether a new treatment is likely to work, researchers can test it against a panel of bacteria. Until now, few of these panels have reflected current resistance patterns, and getting access has often taken a long time before research could begin.

UKHSA identified and analysed the bacteria samples through its Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections (AMRHAI) Reference Unit, drawing on its expertise in tracking antimicrobial resistance across the UK. The samples are now being made available through UKHSA’s National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC), the UK’s longest-established collection of medically important bacteria.

These new panels address this gap, com prising of 145 bacteria collected in the UK mostly within the last five years. The panels cover bacteria identified as priority threats by the World Health Organization and include examples linked to urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections and lower respiratory tract infections. Although collected in the UK, they reflect resistance patterns seen around the world.

The samples are available through UKHSA’s  National Collection of Type Cultures, along with detailed scientific data to support researchers.