I am the Co-Founder and Director of ARMoR, a Charity Entrepreneurship incubated charity working on tackling the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance. We work on securing a sustainable pipeline of new, effective antimicrobials and improving access to those with the greatest need.
Prior to founding ARMoR, I spent 5 excellent years working in various roles for AstraZeneca. I am chemist and chemical engineer by background with a Masters from the University of Strathclyde.
Thanks for the comment Pat. Widespread use of antibiotics in animal agriculture is certainty a concern, however, the role that it plays in driving resistance overall is quite poorly understood. We think it’s unlikely that because most antibiotics are used in animals therefore most resistance relevant to humans arises from their use in animals. This forum post gives a good explanation of why this is likely the case.
Given how poorly understood the drivers of resistance are (see this paper for more), and the fact that it seems unlikely that we’ll be able to reduce the growth of resistance in the short term though stewardship efforts, development of new antimicrobials seems to us to be a robust option to reducing the burden of AMR.