MANCHESTER, U.K. – The U.K. is establishing a new Antimicrobial Resistance Center (AMRC) to provide research and funding for SMEs and biotechs working in the field.

AMRC has been formed to fill the void in antibiotic discovery that has been left by pharma's retreat from the field by providing the resources and funding that biotechs need to advance academic research to the clinic, Peter Jackson, chair of the AMRC told the Euroscience Open Forum Conference on Monday.

The center has a £180 million (US$236 million) plan with the ambition of getting 20 products into preclinical development by 2020 and advancing 10 of those to clinical trials by 2022.

"In response to the challenges of antimicrobial resistance [AMR] and talking to SMEs, we have created AMRC to address the gaps in drug development in AMR research with a public private partnership," Jackson said. "We will provide the capacity to fast track products to the clinic."

Jackson told BioWorld Today that the first appeal for potential projects to put through the center was made at the BioEurope conference in Stockholm, Sweden, in April.

That attracted 12-16 companies to submit bids, and from that four projects considered to be serious candidates were assessed by AMRC's scientific advisory board earlier this month.

"One was too early stage and was rejected, two were approved subject to additional data that the companies need to supply. The other was approved straight off," Jackson said.

The next step will be to draw up the development program and set out the milestones.

Companies that get their projects adopted by AMRC will not have to pay for the services supplied. Unusually, the center will not take any rights or have any equity share, but for products that are successfully commercialized will receive a pre-agreed percentage of any revenue.

"We are not taking equity stakes or providing loans. We will get a small share of any returns that will be reinvested to make the center sustainable in the long term," said Jackson.

Given this, AMRC has worked with external partners to establish a process of scientific review that is entirely independent, with a robust conflict of interest policy in place.

The start-up funding has been provided by the consortium partners, and AMRC has a year one budget of £8 million to £10 million (US$10.5 million to $13 million), with a further £170 million planned over the following five years, provided AMRC meets its targets.

AMRC will not look to get grant funding, but the companies whose products it is developing may do so.

"This is a completely new initiative," Jackson said. "The AMRC will not be developing its own products, but is there as an accelerator – it is more for virtual companies without their own capabilities."

AMRC will recruit its own staff to handle projects and carry out research, with the roster expected to number 75 by the end of the first year of operation in 2017.

There are three entry points for programs, starting with early stage outputs of academic research where there is a biological target and some hits.

The second entry point is for programs which are ready for preclinical development, where there is a compound, but preparation is needed in terms of formulation and safety toxicity.

The third point is for programs that are ready for the clinic. Here, AMRC will be able to draw on links to the National Health Service in Northwest England to set up and stage clinical trials.

"Programs can come in at any of the stage gates. We can track them through all three, but there is no obligation to keep a project in the center," said Jackson.

The scientific selection of projects has been separated from operational considerations, such as how much respective projects might cost to develop. "We want to choose on the basis of the science, and on what it means to patients, rather than the funding requirements," Jackson said.

The scale of the ambition is highlighted by the fact that in September 2015 there were only 39 antibiotic drugs in development, less than the number of products in industry pipelines for treating ovarian cancer.

AMRC has set up its physical headquarters at Astrazeneca plc's research center in Alderley Park near Manchester, which has attracted a number of AMR specialist companies following the pharma company's decision to build new laboratories in Cambridge and the formation of a science park on the site.

The labs where AMRC will carry out its scientific research are due to be vacated by Astrazeneca over the coming months as it relocates to Cambridge.

Astrazeneca is not involved in the AMRC, though it is retaining an antibiotic research unit at Alderley Park.

One consequence of pharma moving out of antibiotic research is that it is hard to find people with the necessary skills. Another is that there is a shortage of service companies with the tools and technology required. "We will recruit and train a critical mass of staff to help refill the pipeline and provide the capacity to fast-track products to the clinic," said Jackson.