No antibiotics without a test, says report on rising antimicrobial resistance

Report by economist Jim O'Neill says global cost of problem could be loss of 10 million lives a year by 2050 and $100tn a year

A blueprint to end the scourge of antimicrobial resistance proposes that drug companies should foot the bill for the development of new antibiotics and that patients should not be able to get them without a test to ensure they are needed.

Economist Jim O'Neill, charged two years ago by David Cameron with finding answers to one of the most pressing problems in the world today, says the global financial cost of no action would be the loss of 10 million lives a year by 2050 and 69tn ($100tn) a year.