Building awareness & strengthening collaborations to advance health innovation

Connecting with the broader AMR community in Europe

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global concern and investment in collaborations that address this complex challenge is increasingly important. Several of our colleagues have participated in events over the last few months covering this topic. 

In January, Jon de Vlieger, Lygature’s Strategy Director, was invited to speak at the FAST AMR Stakeholder Meeting in the Netherlands. This gathering of key stakeholders is aimed at accelerating and strengthening collaboration on AMR research and therapy development. In his talk, Jon highlighted the power of public-private partnerships in developing antimicrobial therapies, sharing insights from several AMR projects that Lygature is involved in.​

March saw Program Managers Julia Lischke and Lianne Hulshof attend the 5th IMI AMR Accelerator Cross-Project meeting in Basel, Switzerland. The AMR Accelerator is comprised of nine projects focused on progressing the development of new medicines to treat or prevent resistant bacterial infections. Lygature is involved in two of these projects: UNITE4TB and GNA NOW, providing partnership management and communication & dissemination support for both. 

Sharing insights from the meeting, Julia, who was there on behalf of both Lygature and UNITE4TB said: “The AMR accelerator pipeline is filled with interesting candidates and there is active collaboration between the projects on the exchange of ideas and perspectives. Perhaps more importantly though, there is a well-managed handover of assets from preclinical to clinical studies between the projects - this facilitates the most efficient use of resources. For Lygature the cross-project meeting is a very good networking opportunity, nicely facilitating idea generation for new collaborations.”

Lianne added from the GNA NOW perspective: “It is encouraging to see the amount of energy being put into this multi-project effort. New opportunities are constantly being found and explored. Together, we are working towards the common goal of finding solutions to the ever-growing problem of antimicrobial resistance.”

Learn more about our involvement in these and other projects in the AMR and Global Health space. 

Sharing our expertise in partnership management

Our engagement continued at the 16^th annual meeting of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) Benelux, where our Business Development colleagues, Wim-Jan Koot and Jacqueline Staring, led a workshop on the “Key success factors in public-private partnerships.” This event draws together an impressive crowd of stakeholders from the MedTech sector in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, helping to stimulate open science and activities that focus on medical and biological applications for MRI and NMR. 

Jacqueline reflected on the day’s outcomes highlighting the advancements in the field and the vital role of public-private partnerships, exemplified by projects like MOMENTUM. “The enthusiastic participation of attendees underscores the increasing importance of these partnerships,” she said.  

Closing out our event attendance in Q1, Wim-Jan presented at the Alliance Roundtable, a meeting organized by Peter Simoons, Alliances and Partnerships specialist, and Brian Tjemkes, Professor of Management and Organization at the UNiversity of Amsterdam's School of Business and Economics. He spoke on Lygature’s experience in managing public-private consortia and the challenges encountered in spearheading partnerships for innovation within the life sciences and health sector. “These meetings offer a valuable platform for discussing alliance strategies and provide a fresh perspective on the importance of broadening our collaborations to enhance innovation in the life sciences & health sector.” 

As we move into the second quarter of the year, Lygature remains focused on fostering partnerships for a healthier world. Stay tuned for more updates.