Large AI project to combat drug-resistant superbugs

The UK wants to use artificial intelligence (AI) to combat the increasing number of treatment-resistant infections.

The project – a collaboration between the Fleming Initiative and pharmaceutical company GSK – is a battle between superbugs and supercomputers.

The aim is to accelerate the discovery of new antibiotics and create new ways to combat other threats, including deadly fungal infections.

Overuse of antibiotics causes bacteria to develop resistance to infections, meaning new drugs are a priority.

Drug-resistant infections are a growing problem, also known as the “silent pandemic.”

It is now estimated that superbugs directly kill around a million people worldwide each year and contribute to the deaths of millions more. These numbers are expected to continue to rise.

The collaboration will spend £45m across six research areas.

“This represents the single…