Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had recent discussions with her international counterparts on the subscription deal for two antimicrobials, cefiderocol and ceftazidime–avibactam, for the NHS in England.

The Department has raised awareness of England’s subscription-style payment model for antimicrobials through a range of bilateral and multilateral forums. The Department has also advocated for other countries to share results of similar models to address the market failures in antibiotic research and development and/or to develop suitable models.

The Department has engaged with Senators in the United States of America who are co-sponsoring the PASTEUR Act, which aims to establish a subscription model. We have also recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sweden which includes commitments to incentivise antimicrobial research and development.

During the United Kingdom’s G7 Presidency, health and finance Ministers committed to explore options to incentivise new antimicrobials through research and development and onto the market and ensure security of supplies. Ministers have committed to report on progress during Japan's presidency next year.