Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) financial support, and (2) other support, they are providing to support the (a) discovery, (b) development, and (c) delivery of new anti-fungal drugs.

We recognise antimicrobial resistance (AMR), including resistance to fungal pathogens, is a significant and growing threat to public health. The Department supports research and innovation across the pipeline from discovery through to development and delivery of new antifungal treatments.

Through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Department has invested substantially in AMR research, which includes antifungal innovation. Over the last five years, the NIHR has invested over £88 million in AMR programme funding, supporting research to understand infections, optimise antimicrobial use, and develop new antimicrobials.

The Global AMR Innovation Fund has established a work package specifically to stimulate innovation and provide support for the development of products to combat fungal AMR via Fungal AMR Innovations for LMICs: Solutions and Access For Everyone (FAILSAFE), run by the Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter. FAILSAFE funds vital research and development in this space as well as providing training and capacity building and has established the world’s largest medical mycology network of over 1,100 members.

Beyond direct funding, the NIHR supports research infrastructure such as Biomedical Research Centres and Health Protection Research Units, and the United Kingdom’s 2024–2029 AMR National Action Plan prioritises the development of new treatments and their translation into practice.