GSK and Fleming Initiative in PS45 million AI-driven research push
GSK PLC and Fleming Initiative on Wednesday unveiled six major research programmes aimed at tackling antimicrobial resistance, committing £45 million to projects that will harness advanced artificial intelligence and cutting-edge laboratory science to combat drug-resistant infections.
The programmes branded ’Grand Challenges’ will begin in early 2026 and bring together researchers from GSK and Imperial College London to address some threats identified by the World Health Organisation, including Gram-negative bacteria, Aspergillus fungal infections, and Staphylococcus aureus, including MRSA.
GSK said around 50 UK scientific and academic roles will be funded under the initiative.
One of the new research programmes will focus on overcoming the defences of Gram-negative bacteria such as E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, using supercomputing power and AI/ML models to design next-generation antibiotics.
Data generated through this partnership will be shared openly with the global scientific community, GSK said.
Fleming Initiative, founded as a partnership between Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, was launched to drive cross-disciplinary solutions to AMR.
GSK became its first founding partner in 2024 with a £45 million pledge.
GSK Chief Scientific Officer Tony Wood said combining advanced datasets with new drug-discovery tools and AI ‘will open up new approaches for the discovery of novel antibiotics’ and help outpace emerging resistance.
GSK shares were 0.6% lower at 1,776.00 pence in London on Wednesday morning.
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