The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), working with Pathways to Antimicrobial Clinical Efficacy (PACE), has made 5 new collections of drug-resistant bacteria available for researchers to order, the agency said on 22 September 2026. PACE is a partnership between Innovate UK, LifeArc and Medicines Discovery Catapult.

The panels comprise 145 bacteria collected in the UK, mostly within the last five years, according to UKHSA. They cover organisms the World Health Organization identifies as priority threats and include examples linked to urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections and lower respiratory tract infections. Although collected in the UK, the samples reflect resistance patterns seen worldwide, the agency said. UKHSA identified and analysed the samples through its Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections Reference Unit; they are available through the National Collection of Type Cultures with supporting scientific data.

Professor Mark Sutton, UKHSA's scientific leader for antimicrobial resistance, said the panels give researchers a resource reflecting infections seen in hospitals and clinics today. Dr Beverley Isherwood, PACE programme director and strategy leader for infectious diseases at Medicines Discovery Catapult, said access to consistent, contemporary strain panels had long been a barrier, particularly for smaller companies.