Governments and pharmaceutical companies have made a “startling” lack of progress in tackling superbugs, more than three years since a landmark report warned of their growing threat.

The 2016 Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, commissioned by then prime minister David Cameron and chaired by former Goldman Sachs banker Lord Jim O’Neill, called for a complete overhaul of the global antibiotics market.

Its key recommendations included a call for multi-million pound rewards to companies that develop new drugs, the development of diagnostics to ensure that only those who need an antibiotic gets one and the production of vaccines for diseases such as gonorrhea to prevent infections in the first place.

However, a report tracking progress since the 2016 review, has found that little has been done to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is predicted to kill 10 million people by 2050 if it continues at its current rate.

In an article in the Telegraph last year Lord O’Neill warned that there had been “a lot of talk, but no action” on superbugs and in the 18 months since not much has changed.