The emergence and spread of drug-resistant bacteria is an important health and socioeconomic threat with global dimensions, which is developing towards an emergency/pandemic crisis. No drugs are available to address the disease, and diagnostic tools are poorly effective. This negatively impacts the treatment and survival of critically ill patients. As such, drug-resistant bacteria may spread outside hospital settings, representing a critical risk for the global population. Current research in this field is highly fragmented and mostly monodisciplinary, thus limiting the development of innovative diagnostic and therapeutic solutions.

This COST Action will bring together industrial and academic European scientists with different skills and expertise in a multidisciplinary and concerted initiative. The Action will combine disciplines such as chemistry, physics, bioinformatics, genetics, biology, immunology, and medicine in understanding the genetic and molecular bases of bacterial drug resistance, developing innovative diagnostic tools, and delivering lead/pre-clinical candidates, antibody-based therapies, and clinical-ready repurposed drugs towards the personalized treatment of drug-resistant bacterial infections. 

The further challenge of the Action is to enhance networking among European scientists and to increase the competitiveness of European research by promoting the exploitation of translational research outcomes, e.g., by the creation of novel SMEs. Finally, by knowledge creation and sharing, the Action will train a new generation of young scientists skilled in the multiple aspects related to bacterial drug resistance. Career development of Young Researchers and Innovators and research impulses in Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC) will be considered as a priority in the Action.