AI and Machine Learning: The New Weapon in the AMR Fight
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is accelerating, with the WHO estimating that one in six lab-confirmed bacterial infections is now drug-resistant. Projections point to 8.22 million deaths a year by 2050 if we stay on the current track. In response, GSK and the Fleming Initiative have launched six AI-driven research programmes to find new therapies, forecast spread, and improve how antibiotics are used.
Tony Wood, Chief Scientific Officer at GSK, put it plainly: "I'm delighted to combine GSK's leadership in antimicrobial science with world-leading research at Imperial College London. Together with scaled datasets, emerging drug modalities and models using AI, we will open up new approaches for the discovery of novel antibiotics." He added that GSK intends to "continue to be a leader in inspiring much more collective action."
Six Grand Challenges (funded for three years, starting early 2026)
- Discover new antibiotics for resistant Gram-negative bacteria, including E. coli.
- Develop antifungal drugs targeting high-mortality Aspergillus infections.
- Map immune responses to drug-resistant bacteria to inform vaccine design.
- Build AI surveillance models to predict how resistance emerges and spreads.
- Run clinical trials that improve antibiotic stewardship and prescribing.
- Drive policy and societal action on AMR through research and engagement.
Professor Lord Ara Darzi, Head of the Fleming Initiative, noted the momentum: "We have the world-leading expertise, facilities, capacity and vision in place to be able to launch these ambitious Grand Challenges." He hopes the programme becomes a "beacon for the global scientific community" and sparks wider collaboration on AMR.
Advanced AI at the core of discovery
The programmes will apply large-scale compute to priority threats like multi-drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. In partnership with Imperial College London's Drug Discovery Hub and Agilent Technologies, teams will train models that predict and design candidate antibiotics. Datasets will be shared globally to accelerate discovery. Similar AI approaches will probe weaknesses in fungi such as Aspergillus to guide new treatments.
Claire Lund, Global Vice President of Sustainability at GSK, underscored the environmental link: warmer climates are speeding the spread of resistance. "One of the new research programmes will be using disease surveillance together with environmental data to create AI models that predict how drug-resistant pathogens emerge and spread," she said.
A framework for global collaboration
The Fleming Initiative, created by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, connects scientists, clinicians, policymakers and commercial partners. GSK is the first founding partner with a £45m commitment. The collaboration will also fund around 50 specialist roles in the UK, addressing a talent shortfall in this space.
Professor Hugh Brady, President of Imperial College London, stressed that tackling drug-resistant infections demands cross-disciplinary work spanning science, industry, policy, and public engagement. Professor Tim Orchard, CEO of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, called AMR "one of the biggest challenges we face in the NHS and across the world," and emphasized the need to pool expertise to find new solutions.
Why this matters for researchers
- Antibiotic and antifungal discovery: Expect structure-informed design, generative models for scaffolds, and multi-objective optimization against activity, permeability, and toxicity.
- Immune mapping: Single-cell and spatial data can feed causal models that flag vaccine antigens and adjuvant strategies.
- Surveillance: Integrating resistance phenotypes with climate, mobility, wastewater, and prescribing data can improve early warnings and hotspot prediction.
- Clinical stewardship: Trial designs will likely test decision-support tools, rapid diagnostics, and prescription nudges, with endpoints tied to resistance trends.
- Data sharing: Look for open benchmarking sets and standardized assays that improve external validity and reproducibility.
What to watch next
- Early 2026 start, three-year funding runway.
- Milestones across new antibacterial and antifungal leads, immune-response atlases, validated surveillance models, and pragmatic stewardship trials.
- Policy outputs to help align healthcare systems, regulators, and payers around responsible use and sustainable incentives.
Further reading: see WHO's overview of AMR and surveillance programmes for context and data standards. WHO: Antimicrobial resistance
Institutional partner: Imperial College London
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