INCATE kicked off the AMR week in Basel with the INCATE Networking Event on February 24. With over 65 attendees, the event provided a unique opportunity for INCATE ventures to connect, meet new faces, and engage with professionals just outside our immediate community. Adding to the event’s impact, attendees had the privilege of listening to insightful presentations from Richard Alm (Carb-X), Raquel Rodríguez Alonso (HERA), and Geri Ivanyi (Venture Validation). A big thank you to Guillermo Tramontin (Cavenagh Health) for leading this fantastic event!

The momentum continued with the NCCR AntiResist annual networking event – featuring very insightful presentations from PD Dr. Richard Kühl, Dr. Julia Alicia Boos & Dr. Carlos Flores, Dr. Baris Ata Borsa, Dr. Glenn E Dale,  and Dr. Valeria Gigante – , followed by the AMR Action Fund Networking Event to round off an enriching day.

Attracting over 650 attendees and highlighting the event’s ongoing expansion — evidenced by a new, larger, and brighter venue — the 9th AMR Conference officially kicked off in Basel on February 24. The conference provided a valuable platform for experts to explore the latest advancements in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) research and innovation.

Frederic Peyrane, Managing Director of BEAM Alliance, opened the plenary session addressing the renewed global political commitments concerning AMR. Highlights included Italy’s G7 presidency, the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR, the 4th AMR Ministerial Conference, and key discussions from the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos.

Day one featured presentations, panel discussions, and diverse networking sessions. Adding a touch of Hollywood, actor Bill Pullman, known for films like Independence Day, attended the event to gather insights for his upcoming documentary on AMR.

Lloyd Payne stepped up to host this year’s Startup Pitch Event, and he delivered! Kindly sponsored by Vossius, the event attracted over 40 initial pitches, making the selection of just 10 finalists a tough challenge. The competition was intense, but there could be only one winner, and SoundCell emerged as the audience-chosen winner. Their innovative rapid phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing device, which detects bacterial resistance within just one hour, earned them the €10k prize. You can watch the recording here.

The second day opened with an the funding rounds announcement from CARB-X’s Chief of R&D, Erin Duffy. Speaking to a packed audience, she revealed the themes for CARB-X’s 2025 funding rounds, which will focus on direct-acting small molecules for gram-negative infections and diagnostics for typhoid fever in low-resource settings.

Together with the call, we also learned about the launch of the Global AMR Innovators Conference (GAMRIC), set to take place in Washington, D.C., from September 30 to October 2, 2025. Supported by CARB-X, ESCMID, BEAM Alliance, GARDP, LifeArc, AMR Solutions (John Rex), and the WHO, this new annual event will rotate between the U.S., Europe, and a low-middle-income country, promising to be another must-attend gathering in the AMR space.

INCATE also played an active role as our colleague Sina Gerbach had the opportunity to moderate the session “Making the Most of External Expertise.” Astrid Pentz-Murr, Patrice Courvalin, Taslimarif Saiyed, and Richard Alm took the stage to explore strategies for retaining and expanding critical scientific expertise in AMR research, ensuring that knowledge not only endures but also becomes more accessible.

Before the last session of the conference it was time to announce the much-anticipated Poster Awards, sponsored by Basilea Pharmaceutica — a first for this event. This year’s winners were:

• 1st place: Lisa Osbelt-Block (Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research) – Designing Metabolically Enhanced Next-Generation Probiotics to Eradicate Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria from the Gut.
• 2nd place: Niklas Krappel (Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland) – Targeting the Bacterial Sliding Clamp for the Treatment of Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections.
• 3rd place: Pål Rongved (AdjuTec Pharma AS) – APC148: A Safe, Selective, and Efficient Metallo-β-Lactamase Inhibitor. 

Robert Hausmann, Eventfotografen / bamconn GmbH

The AMR Conference once again proved to be an essential platform for collaboration and progress, thanks to the outstanding efforts of BEAM Alliance and bamconn GmbH. Their meticulous planning ensured an inclusive and productive environment, allowing innovators to accelerate their advancements.

This conference reaffirmed INCATE’s commitment to fostering collaboration and providing the right support and guidance to drive impactful solutions. We look forward to continuing this work with our partners and seeing everyone again next year in Basel!