A strong programme for BioInfect 2026 with AMR the focus of discussion
The BioInfect AMR Conference convened more than 170 delegates at the Apiary in Alderley Park on 5th February, creating a focused forum for discussion on the escalating threat of antimicrobial resistance and the urgent need for coordinated action.
The agenda presented talks and discussions across a range of topics, including the state of the drug discovery and development pipeline; how to increase engagement and communication around AMR; tracking resistance in a changing world; a funding and investment update from the Biologics Regional Innovation Technology System (BRITE) partnership; and a discussion about the role vaccines play in combating infections.
It was a bumper year for keynote speakers, with four sharing their expertise: Mark Woolhouse, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh; Sir James Black Professor of Infection Medicine at the University of St Andrews and Professor of Microbiology at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme, Nick Feasey; LifeArc Business Development Manager, Sam Rhoden; and Colm Leonard, Chief Clinical Officer at Infex Therapeutics.
With a keynote succinctly titled “Antimicrobial Resistance – What’s the Problem?”, Mark Woolhouse opened the discussion with key topics around AMR as a natural phenomenon, the antibiotic pipeline, the public health burden of bacterial disease, the AMR ecosystem and the need for sustainability.
With the initial statement that resistance is inevitable, the presentation revealed that each person produces between 50 and 200 tonnes of bacteria and soil contains homologous resistance genes for all major classes of antibiotic. It was also highlighted that between 2016 and 2023, net antibiotic consumption has increased 16% to 34.3 billion daily defined doses (DDDs) per year with a per capita consumption increase of 11% to 15.2 DDDs per year.
Takeaways included the fact that antibiotics are not (yet) future proof; the way the antibiotic pipeline is financed needs fresh thinking; prevention of bacterial disease is the priority; lack of access, especially in the developing world, is a bigger problem than resistance; and sustainable levels of usage is the ultimate goal.
The next presentation by Nick Feasey, “Tracking AMR transmission in Malawi and Merseyside”, examined how AMR spreads in both low- and high-resource healthcare settings, drawing on research from neonatal wards in Malawi and hospital networks in Liverpool and Merseyside. In Malawi, the focus was on drug-resistant bloodstream infections in newborns, particularly those caused by ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae. Findings showed that colonisation occurs rapidly and is largely driven by silent transmission within hospital environments. Genomic analysis linked infections to contaminated ward surfaces, equipment and routine care practices, highlighting the ward environment as a central driver of spread.
The Merseyside work focused on developing faster, cheaper and more accurate genomic tools to track AMR transmission. New sequencing and analysis methods aim to detect subtle genetic differences between bacterial strains and build clearer transmission maps across healthcare systems. The long-term aim is a rapid, quality-assured pipeline capable of delivering actionable information within 48 hours, supporting quicker and more effective infection prevention and control responses.
Sam Rhoden’s keynote, “Leveraging Innovation and Partnerships to Address AMR”, examined LifeArc’s role in supporting antimicrobial research and development, with a focus on developing treatments and diagnostics, collaborating across sectors and borders, and coordinating efforts to improve policies and regulation.
With the gap between early (designing molecules/assays, navigating development etc) and late (pre- and early clinical trials, clinical proof of concept etc) translation identified as an issue with AMR, one of LifeArc’s main objectives for 2025-2030 is global health, with an aim to prevent and control drug-resistant infections, the key principles of which are equity, trust and shared power; responding to local needs; and strengthening local capacity. To facilitate this, Pathways to Antimicrobial Clinical Efficacy (PACE), a partnership between Innovate UK, the Medicines Discovery Catapult and LifeArc with £30m total funding over five years, was established in 2023 with an aim of bridging the acceleration gap by bringing together the sector to help innovators with early-stage antimicrobial and diagnostics projects move forward with greater speed and confidence, accelerating the delivery of new innovations to tackle AMR. The Centre for Translational AMR Research (CTAR), a collaboration between LifeArc and H3D at UCT (Cape Town) was also launched in Cape Town in 2024, with a £5m investment over a 5-year period to develop a pipeline of novel small-molecule drugs tackling AMR whilst capacity-strengthening and training the next generation of AMR researchers in South Africa.
Closing the keynote presentations, Colm Leonard’s talk on “RESP-X: A Novel Anti-Virulence Therapy Targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Chronic Infection”, explored a new type of treatment being developed to tackle chronic infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a highly drug-resistant bacteria linked to serious lung conditions such as non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. Rather than trying to kill the bacteria directly with antibiotics, RESP-X takes a different approach by blocking the bacteria’s ability to damage lung tissue and evade the immune system. This “anti-virulence” strategy aims to reduce the severity and frequency of infections, whilst also helping the body’s natural defences clear the bacteria more effectively.
The talk also shared encouraging early clinical progress. RESP-X has completed initial human safety trials, showing it was well tolerated, with no serious safety concerns and a long-lasting effect that could allow infrequent dosing. A follow-on patient study in people with chronic lung disease has now been completed, with results expected later this year. Together, this positions RESP-X as a promising potential new option for patients living with long-term, hard-to-treat lung infections, where current treatments often fail and antibiotic resistance remains a major challenge.
Commenting on the success of the conference, Bionow’s Executive Director of Business Development, Stella James, said: “It was inspiring to see the progress being made across multiple research programmes, as well as the strategic thinking shaping the future of AMR prevention. The presence of student delegates and presenters as well as early-career scientists was especially encouraging, and I hope the event provided valuable insight, dialogue and opportunities for collaboration for everyone involved.”
BioInfect 2026 is supported by Bruntwood SciTech, Evotec, iiCON, Appleyard Lees and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Enterprise & Innovation.