Putting AMR on the agenda at BioInfect 2023
Seeing a fantastic turnout for 2023, this year’s BioInfect event was back at Alderley Park on 1st February, with a record 200 delegates, 20 exhibitors, 12 poster abstracts and 28 speakers from 21 companies coming together to tackle the ever-present global issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and discuss what can be done to raise awareness, drive innovation and incentivise R&D in this area.
The agenda was packed with panels and keynotes focusing on the main discussion topics for the day, including the state of the nation, patient perspectives, biologics, diagnostics, antifungals and new de-risking models, as well as presenting plenty of opportunities to network. A special Biotech & Beers was also laid on in the evening to continue the debate in a more relaxed setting, allowing attendees and non-attendees alike to put the world to rights over a drink or two!
BioInfect welcomed two keynote speakers to lend their perspectives this year: Professor Janet Hemingway, Director of iiCON and Professor of Tropical Medicine at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), plus Professor Colm Leonard, who is Consultant Thoracic Physician at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and an honorary professor of respiratory medicine at the Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre.
The first keynote, focusing on the subject of tackling AMR from early stage drug discovery and development to its impact on public health, highlighted iiCON’s core objective to become the first choice for anti-infective translational research through partnerships, co-development and de-risking, validation and positioning, open access and progress to market. iiCON’s end-to-end product development ecosystem also allowed for rapidly pivoting to new and emerging infections and expediting vaccine development through innovative infection models.
The second and final keynote discussed UK ‘pull’ incentives for antimicrobials and what effect this was having on the pipeline, with the specific incentive being trialled as an innovative payment model that reimburses companies for antimicrobials based primarily on their value to the NHS as opposed to volumes used, which is a current issue as these types of medicines are designed to be administered sparingly and infrequently. The results from this trial included the development of selection criteria and scoring framework to assess suitability of antibiotic products for subscription-based contracts, plus two antimicrobial products were evaluated using bespoke health technology appraisal that estimated incremental net health benefit in quality-adjusted life years. This will then allow UK plans for routine evaluation and reimbursement of antimicrobials to be finalised, with other countries exploring similar models such as the PASTEUR act in the USA.
Speaking on the importance of keeping AMR on the agenda, Dr Geoff Davison, CEO of Bionow, said: “Once again, I am delighted at the success of BioInfect this year, with insightful discussions and expert perspectives taking place throughout the day, and attendance figures looking fantastic. With the threat of infectious disease never far away and with the world only just coming out of a global pandemic after three years, I don’t think we can overstate the value of networking events like this one.”
BioInfect 2023 is supported by Evotec, iiCON, Bruntwood SciTech, Appleyard Lees and Alderley Park.
