Microbiology Society leads policy workshop at Innovation Against AMR Summit

25 November 2025

The Microbiology Society was proud to lead a policy workshop at this year's Innovations Against AMR Summit, held at the University of Warwick, UK.  

The event convened experts and stakeholders from across the antimicrobial resistance landscape to share insights, showcase innovations and foster collaboration. The summit took place on 21 November, coinciding with World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, and was co-organised by Cytecom, a local biotechnology enterprise, and Medilink Midlands, a medical technology support organisation. 

Our afternoon session opened with introductions to the Microbiology Society from Charlotte Holtum, our Head of Engagement and Storytelling. Will Thompson, our Policy and Engagement Officer, followed with a presentation that set the scene of the policy landscape for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) space.  

The highlight of the session was a 40-minute panel discussion chaired by Charlotte Holtum, featuring experts working across therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostics. The discussion invited questions and comments from the audience and explored topics such as how the government (through policy and regulation) and organisations like the Microbiology Society can better support SMEs in the AMR space. 

The panelists included:  

• Prof. Adam Cunningham - University of Birmingham and Director of BactiVac 

• Dr Magdalena Karlikowska - Chief Executive Officer, Cytecom (and event organiser) 

• Ed Siegwart - Director of Microbiology, Oppilotech 

The output will serve as a foundation and launch pad for the Microbiology Society to determine how we can best support SMEs and tackle the challenges they face, as part of our Knocking Out AMR project.