Keeping antibiotics working
for the next 100 years
We can control the spread of antimicrobial resistance and keep antibiotics working
The Fleming Initiative is bringing research,
behaviour change, public engagement, and policy
together to provide real-world solutions to a global problem.
A partnership between Imperial College London
and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
An invisible health crisis
Antimicrobials are medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals, and plants.
The microbes that cause infection can develop resistance to these medicines.
Widespread misuse and overuse of antibiotics and other antimicrobials, from the food industry to the doctor’s surgery and the hospital bedside, has led to the global spread of drug-resistant microbes known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
If we don’t tackle this problem, drug-resistant infections have the potential to become a global humanitarian crisis, responsible for at least 10 million lives lost yearly by 2050.
Without action, we are heading for a post-antibiotic era, where a common infection or routine surgical procedure could become life threatening.
Our movement for change
It is possible to control the spread of drug-resistance,
but medical breakthroughs alone will not be the solution
to this invisible health crisis.
Science must work hand-in-hand with policy and people to deliver meaningful change.
The Fleming Initiative will break down barriers between scientists, policymakers, and the public through the founding of The Fleming Centre, a co-location space.
In this innovative new ecosystem – where clinicians work side by side with microbiologists, AI experts, behavioural scientists and policymakers, and all connect with the public – powerful new ideas will emerge and thrive.
An initiative that delivers
The Fleming Initiative will draw on diverse expertise and public involvement to tackle antimicrobial resistance from all angles.
We must raise awareness of antimicrobial resistance – its causes and solutions – to drive positive global change.
We must change how people understand and use antimicrobials, using behavioural science-informed interventions.
We must inform and champion new policies to help us benefit from new technology, more efficiently identify infections, and ensure antibiotics are only given to those who need them.
We must develop new ways to prevent drug-resistant infections, including protective vaccinations and novel surveillance of human, animal, and environmental threats.
We must innovate on pathways of care for those infected with drug-resistant infections, including novel therapeutics strategies, by using artificial intelligence to leverage existing and new data sources.