LEADING North Yorkshire-based scientists have set up the world's first charity to tackle the "impending catastrophe" of antibiotic resistance.

Based at York Science Park, Antibiotic Research UK (ANTRUK) has been set up to address the serious concern that antibiotics are becoming less effective as bacteria develop resistance.

The charity has said if nothing is done and no new antibiotics are developed, modern medicine as currently practised, would become impossible.

Professor Colin Garner, the charity’s chief executive, said: “The UK’s charity sector has been extremely successful in raising funds for medical research and we hope to tap into this success; if we don’t tackle the problem of antibiotic resistant bacteria now, modern medicine such as treatment for certain cancers, organ transplantation and even hip replacements will become impossible because of the dangers of infection.

"We are looking to the UK public to assist us in achieving our goal.”

It is estimated that in the UK there are currently about 5000 deaths related to reported antibiotic resistant infections a year.

The founder of the charity is Professor Colin Garner, who has spent the majority of his research career working at the University of York.

He founded founded ANTRUK in January 2012, following discussions held with some of the UK’s leading academic scientists and clinicians who had formed an informal network known as Antibiotic Discovery UK.

There was general agreement amongst this community that the country that discovered penicillin had let this area of drug development slip backwards to such an extent that there was very little research now being conducted in the area.

The charity’s mission is to provide a step change in developing new antibiotics with a view to developing one new antibiotic in the next five to seven years. In order to achieve this, the charity aims to raise up to £30 million in the next five to seven years using social media campaigns, crowd funding, applications to foundations and trusts and corporate sponsorship.

Other key figures involved with the charity include Ashley Burgess, a Yorkshire based business man and former chairman of Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust, Professor Sir Anthony Coates, one of the world’s foremost experts in antibiotic resistance, Dr David Brown, who has over 30 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry and leading scientist, Professor Chris G Dowson.