OREANDA-NEWS. February 06, 2015. Redx Pharma, the drug discovery and development company, today featured in a BBC report on the first recommendations of an independent review commissioned by government on drug-resistant infections, commonly known as 'superbugs.'

The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance ("AMR") was commissioned by Prime Minister David Cameron in July 2014 to address the growing global problem of drug-resistant infections. The Review is Chaired by Jim O'Neill and backed by the Wellcome Trust and the UK Government.

The BBC broadcast can be accessed via this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b050xf2j

Resistant infections already claim more than 700,000 lives a year. In December, the Review reported that unless action is taken to address this huge global problem, it would have a cumulative cost of at least 100 trillion USD and could cost the world at least an additional 10 million lives a year by 2050 - more than the number of people who currently die from cancer.

Redx's Anti-Infectives pipeline is made up of antibacterial programmes with the potential to produce one of the first new chemical classes of antibiotics in a generation, which if achieved would be a landmark in the fight against AMR.

Redx Pharma is currently working in partnership with the NHS (The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital Trust) on new drugs to tackle drug-resistant bacteria, including MRSA.

Neil Murray, Chief Executive of Redx Pharma, said:

"Antimicrobial infection is one of this century's greatest threats to human health. Today's BBC report highlights our drug development work in this field, supported by our close collaboration with the NHS. Whilst drug resistant infections are an immense challenge, we are absolutely committed to producing the next generation of compounds designed to protect patients into the future."