145 samples of the bacteria we can no longer treat, now open to researchers
What happened
On 22 September 2026 the UK Health Security Agency announced that five new collections of drug-resistant bacteria have been made available to researchers. There are 145 bacterial samples in total. Most were collected in the UK within the last five years, and the agency says they reflect patterns of resistance seen around the world. The work was done with PACE, which stands for Pathways to Antimicrobial Clinical Efficacy, a programme run with Innovate UK, LifeArc and the Medicines Discovery Catapult. The samples cover bacteria the World Health Organization has named as priority threats. They are linked to three of the most common serious infections: urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections and lower respiratory tract infections. The point is to give anyone trying to develop a new antibiotic or a new diagnostic test a consistent, realistic set of bacteria to test it against. "Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats to health worldwide, and we need to develop new treatments and diagnostic tests just as quickly as resistance changes," said Professor Mark Sutton, Scientific Leader for Antimicrobial Resistance at UKHSA. Dr Beverley Isherwood, Strategy Leader for Infectious Diseases at the Medicines Discovery Catapult and PACE Programme Director, pointed to who this helps most: "Access to consistent, contemporary strain panels has long been a barrier for AMR innovators, particularly smaller companies who don't have the resources to secure them independently."
Why this matters
Antibiotics changed medicine. Infections that once killed became things you took a course of tablets for. Surgery, chemotherapy, childbirth and intensive care all rely on antibiotics working in the background. Bacteria adapt. The ones that survive a course of antibiotics multiply, and over time an antibiotic that once worked stops working. The difficulty is that developing new antibiotics is slow, expensive and commercially unattractive. A drug taken for five days sells far less than one taken for life, and a genuinely new antibiotic is often held back for emergencies, which reduces sales further. Many large companies have left the field. That leaves smaller companies and university teams doing a lot of the work, and they are the ones who struggle to get hold of the right bacteria to test against. Collecting your own panel of current, well-characterised resistant strains is expensive and slow. This announcement removes that particular obstacle. It does not create a new antibiotic. It lowers the cost of trying, for exactly the groups least able to absorb it. The focus on diagnostic tests matters too. A test that quickly shows which antibiotic will work means fewer broad-spectrum prescriptions, which slows resistance from the other direction.
What the evidence actually says
This is an infrastructure announcement, not a scientific finding, and it should be judged as such. What is solid: 145 samples exist, they are recent, they come from a national public health agency, and they cover WHO priority pathogens. UKHSA is a credible source on UK resistance patterns, and having a shared reference panel is a genuine methodological improvement. When different teams test against the same bacteria, their results can actually be compared. What this does not do: it does not show that any new antibiotic works. It does not show resistance is falling. It does not change how any infection is treated today. There is also a limit worth naming. A panel of 145 samples, however carefully chosen, is a snapshot. Resistance keeps changing, and a collection assembled now will need refreshing. The value of this kind of resource depends on it being maintained, not just launched. And a new antibiotic that begins laboratory testing today would typically take the best part of a decade to reach patients, if it works at all. Most do not. The realistic description is that this is a useful, unglamorous piece of groundwork, of the sort that makes later discoveries possible without being one itself.
Qurexa perspective
Antibiotic resistance is one of the few big health problems where what ordinary people do genuinely adds up. As a pharmacy delivery service, we handle a lot of antibiotic prescriptions, and we see the same patterns repeatedly. Courses stopped early because someone felt better. Leftover tablets kept in a drawer for next time. Antibiotics passed to a partner or a relative with similar symptoms. All of those are understandable. All of them help resistance along. If you have leftover antibiotics at home, your pharmacy will take them back and dispose of them safely. There is no charge and no lecture. It takes a minute, and it is one of the simplest useful things anyone reading this can do.
Practical advice
Nothing here changes your treatment. But a few habits genuinely help slow resistance. - Take antibiotics exactly as prescribed, and follow the advice you were given about finishing the course. If you are unsure, ask your pharmacist rather than guessing. - Never share antibiotics, and never take someone else's. The same symptoms do not mean the same infection. - Never keep leftovers for next time. Return them to a pharmacy. - Do not push for antibiotics for coughs, colds and most sore throats. These are usually viral, and antibiotics do nothing against viruses. - Ask what to look out for if you do not improve. A good prescriber will tell you when to come back. - Keep vaccinations up to date. Preventing an infection removes the need for an antibiotic entirely. - Wash your hands properly, particularly around anyone who is unwell or recovering from surgery.
What to know
UKHSA and the PACE programme have released five collections totalling 145 drug-resistant bacterial samples, most gathered in the UK in the last five years, for use by researchers developing new antibiotics and diagnostic tests. They cover WHO priority bacteria linked to urinary tract, bloodstream and lower respiratory tract infections. The aim is to remove a practical barrier, especially for smaller companies who cannot easily assemble their own panels of current resistant strains. This is groundwork rather than a breakthrough. It does not change any treatment today, and any new antibiotic tested against these samples would still be years from patients. What individuals do still matters: take antibiotics as prescribed, never share them, and return leftovers to a pharmacy. Sources: GOV.UK (UK Health Security Agency), "UKHSA and PACE make new bacteria available to support research into tackling antimicrobial resistance", 22 September 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukhsa-and-pace-make-new-bacteria-available-to-support-research-into-tackling-antimicrobial-resistance; PACE (Pathways to Antimicrobial Clinical Efficacy), https://www.pace-amr.org.uk/ This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.
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