2026 report

Code Red

How Artificial Intelligence Can Help Win the Fight Against Drug-Resistant Infections

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© PATH and Northeastern University 2026

Report overview

About this report

This report captures the key ideas, debates, and recommendations that emerged from a convening of international experts held in October 2025 at The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center. Bringing together leading voices from across science, policy, industry, and global health, the convening explored the current landscape of artificial intelligence in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and the most promising opportunities for impact. The report aims to frame how researchers, funders, and policymakers should approach artificial intelligence (AI)–based tools in the AMR context and highlights the emerging questions that will shape the field in the years ahead.

WhoInternational experts from across science, policy, industry, and global health
When and whereOctober 2025 at The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center
The crisis

The Crisis We Can No Longer Afford to Ignore

1.2 millionBacterial AMR is directly responsible for approximately 1.2 million deaths annually.
Almost 5 millionIt is associated with almost 5 million additional deaths.
Almost 40 millionCumulatively, almost 40 million people will die from drug-resistant infections between 2025 and 2050.
From the report

Why this work matters

“AMR is not a future threat. It is a present catastrophe we have chosen to underprioritize.”
“AI can screen billions of molecules in hours. It can detect resistance patterns before they become untreatable outbreaks. It can guide a clinician toward the right antibiotic in real time.”
“The science is ready. What has been missing is conviction – and a coalition willing to act.”
Chapter 6

Five Proof Points: What Success Looks Like by 2030

What follows are five such tests. They are not a blueprint but rather a standard of adequacy.

A late-stage clinical trial for an AI-discovered antibiotic
Twenty AI-assisted candidates in preclinical trials
National-scale deployment of AI stewardship tools in ten countries
A pre-competitive AMR data consortium.
Published benchmarks for AMR AI model performance.
Editorial team

The Editors

Prof. Samuel V. Scarpino ↗ Prof. Dame Sally Davies ↗ Ms. Brianna Musselman ↗ Prof. Bilal A. Mateen ↗
Northeastern University

Related Northeastern work

Samuel Scarpino

Executive Director, The Institute for Experiential AI & Director of AI + Life Sciences

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Report information

Suggested citation

Mateen, BA. Davies, S. Musselman, B. Dharmaraju, R. Scarpino, S. (Eds). Code Red: How Artificial Intelligence Can Help Win the Fight Against Drug-Resistant Infections. 2026. PATH, USA.

Copyright and license

© PATH and Northeastern University 2026

This report is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). You are free to share and adapt this material for any purpose, provided appropriate credit is given, a link to the license is provided, and any changes are indicated. License details: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.

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