Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Government's response to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report, Ensuring access to working antimicrobials, Cm, 8919, whether his Department is working on potential alternative pricing and reimbursement mechanisms for novel antibiotics in advance of the conclusion of the O'Neill Review; and what plans he has to explore new funding mechanisms with industry in the interim.

As part of the United Kingdom’s antimicrobial resistance strategy, we have been working with industry and with other national and international stakeholders on how best to stimulate the development of new antibiotics, diagnostics and potential business models as well as on research into antimicrobial resistance.

We will continue to explore what can be done to support antimicrobial diagnostics and drug development pending the announcement by the independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance of its conclusions.