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Antibiotics are no longer as effective as they were when penicillin was discovered in the early 20th Century. Over-prescription and overuse has rendered many antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs ineffective against common diseases. Some see this resistance as one of the biggest threats to global health and one which causes up to 1.5 million deaths a year worldwide.

Oxford University has received a donation from the multinational INEOS of $136 million dollars to explore how to combat this growing resistance. Professor Chris Schofield, from the INEOS Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance, explains the scale of the threat and why this funding is such a crucial investment.

"Just as we were always going to have a pandemic, and it came with Covid, the antibiotics are running out - so there is already a critical need in parts of the world."

Photo: MRSA - a bacterium that is resistant to many commonly prescribed antibiotics Credit: Science Photo Library