The University of Oxford has been given £100 million – one of the largest donations in its history – for a new institute that aims to combat the growing issue of resistance to antibiotics.
The gift from chemicals giant Ineos will be used to fund antimicrobial research at the institution, which played a key role in the origin of antibiotics after its academics discovered penicillin in the 1940s.
Researchers will seek to develop new drugs for animals and humans, as well as promote more responsible use of the antibiotics we have, following a rise in antibiotic-resistant “superbugs”.
It is estimated that by 2050, up to 10 million deaths each year could be caused by antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs no longer being effective at treating common diseases.
BBC News
By Sean Coughlan
Published
Oxford University is opening a new research institute dedicated to tackling resistance to antibiotics.
The university says this is one of the the biggest rising threats to global health, already causing 1.5 million deaths per year worldwide.
The institute will be funded by £100m donated by the Ineos chemical company.
Vice chancellor Louise Richardson said the Covid pandemic had shown the high cost of ignoring something that is likely to head our way . Growing menace
There will be 50 researchers working in the new Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance, addressing the over-use and mis-use of antibiotics, which the university warned could cause 10 million excess deaths per year by 2050.