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INCATE
@incate.bsky.social
INCATE is an incubator dedicated to combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR). We assist early-stage innovators with advice on R&D and funding, access to a collaborative community, and financial support.
The AMR Conference is almost here!
✔️ Expert speakers
✔️ Startup Pitch finalists
✔️ Poster finalists
The stage is set for two days of bold ideas, innovation, and collaboration in antimicrobial resistance.

Have you secured your spot yet?

📍 Basel | 3–4 February 2026
Come find INCATE at Booth 9
February 16, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Is Europe’s biotech funding engine running out of fuel?

With biotech financing gaps widening, investors are stepping up. But what does that really mean for innovation, startups, and the future of health tech across the continent?

A must-read article with fresh insights and data ➡️
Europe’s life sciences investors step up as biotech financing gap widens - European Biotechnology Magazine
Europe produces world-class life sciences research, yet still struggles to finance and scale it. Venture capital in European biotech accounts for just 7 per cent of global funding, while 66 of the 67…
buff.ly
February 14, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Innovating for Impact: Tackling Chronic Lung Infections in Cystic Fibrosis
Join the next @gardp.bsky.social REVIVE webinar on addressing chronic respiratory infections in CF.

🗓️ 19 Feb 2026 | 15:30–17:00 CET
📍 Online

Register ➡️ register.gotowebinar.com/register/800...

#CysticFibrosis #AMR
February 13, 2026 at 8:32 AM
Great news: the INCATE Selection Committee has awarded five new Stage I!

Congratulations and a warm welcome to:

- Inicure AB
- Obulytix
- The Wright Lab (McMaster University)
- Uniklinik Köln
- Veirulence Ltd

Learn more about them here ➡️ www.incate.net/introducing-...
Introducing new Stage I ventures - INCATE
The INCATE Selection Committee has selected five promising ventures to [...]
www.incate.net
February 12, 2026 at 8:18 AM
Today we celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

Women have shaped breakthroughs from microbiology to antibiotics, saving millions of lives worldwide.

At INCATE, equity isn’t optional — it’s foundational.

When women and girls succeed in science, society succeeds.
February 11, 2026 at 7:40 AM
🎉 AMR Conference 2026 Poster Competition finalists are in!
160+ submissions from around the world, 77 posters selected. 🏆

Winners announced March 4, 12:30pm, Room Sydney — come support!

Abstracts: amr-conference.com/program/post...

Thanks to Basilea Pharmaceutica for sponsoring this event!
February 10, 2026 at 8:57 AM
What if AI is already reshaping microbiology: are you ready?

Read about how ML is being used now to discover antibiotics, predict resistance, and analyze microbiomes — plus where its limits really are.

Read: www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
César de la Fuente | Hanqun Cao
Microbial Primer: Artificial intelligence for microbiologists
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are reshaping microbiology, enabling rapid antibiotic discovery, resistance prediction and clinical diagnostics. For microbiologists, the goal is...
www.microbiologyresearch.org
February 9, 2026 at 7:35 AM
Can metal-based antibiotics and robotic chemistry beat AMR?

Researchers are using automation to design metal-based compounds that attack bacteria in new ways. Could this succeed where current antibiotics fail — and scale safely?

Paper ➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#AMR #DrugDiscovery #Biotech
High-throughput triazole-based combinatorial click chemistry for the synthesis and identification of functional metal complexes - Nature Communications
Methods for the systematic synthesis and evaluation of large numbers of transition metal complexes at a time are still limited. Here, the authors report a high-throughput method to create and test hun...
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 10:11 AM
Yesterday was World Cancer Day. Cancer care depends on more than awareness — it relies on effective prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
AMR puts cancer patients at serious risk.

Fighting AMR is part of fighting cancer.
#WorldCancerDay #AMR
February 5, 2026 at 7:55 AM
A defining milestone for INCATE 🎉

We’re excited to welcome Holger Zimmermann as INCATE’s first-ever CEO. With deep experience in biotech leadership and anti-infectives R&D, Holger will help guide INCATE into its next phase of growth and impact.

Read more ➡️ www.incate.net/incate-ceo/
INCATE appoints first Chief Executive Officer to shape its future vision - INCATE
February 3, 2026 — INCATE (INCubator for Antibacterial Therapies in [...]
www.incate.net
February 3, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Most biotech startups fail long before the data does.
In “The Long Road to the Trenches,” Mark Beards shares the lessons founders usually learn too late.

Read here ➡️ www.beardsonbiotech.com/p/the-long-r...
The Long Road to the Trenches
Three decades of learning what actually kills biotech companies (and what saves them)
www.beardsonbiotech.com
February 2, 2026 at 8:07 AM
World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day reminds us that “neglected” doesn’t mean small. Over a billion people are affected worldwide — and NTDs are closely linked to AMR.

Innovation, collaboration, and bold action are more urgent than ever. Let’s turn awareness into impact.

#WorldNTDDay #AMR
January 30, 2026 at 6:00 AM
What if the next antibiotics come from AI, the human proteome, or even extinct species?

César de la Fuente on how AI is uncovering hidden antimicrobials—from human peptides to molecules resurrected from Neanderthals and mammoths.

Read the interview ➡️ www.technologynetworks.com/drug-discove...
The Ancient Antibiotics Hidden Within Woolly Mammoth Biology
Discover how ancient DNA and AI combine to uncover powerful new antibiotics, offering hope in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.
www.technologynetworks.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:58 AM
💥 Our first 2026 newsletter is out! 💥
- New partnerships
- Meet the finalists to rock the stage Startup Pitch event in Basel in March
- ... and more!

Read here ➡ buff.ly/oSjaW88

Haven't you subscribed yet?
Don't fall behind, subscribe here ➡

buff.ly/Zmd5lPS
January 28, 2026 at 6:00 AM
When conventional strategies fall short, new thinking is essential. How far have non-traditional approaches to AMR really come?

📍 INCATE session at the AMR Conference
🗓 March 3 | 3pm CET

Real progress. Real challenges. What’s next.

Register ➡️ amr-conference.com/registration/
January 27, 2026 at 11:43 AM
A MERS vaccine candidate triggers a stable, functional immune response lasting up to two years after a booster. With MERS on the @who.int priority disease list, these long-term data mark a key step for vaccine development and pandemic preparedness.
Read it here ➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Two-year persistence of MERS-CoV-specific antibody and T cell responses after MVA-MERS-S vaccination in healthy adults
Nature Communications - This study assessed the durability of immunity in humans after vaccination with an MVA-based MERS vaccine. The data show that antibodies and T cells persist for at least two...
www.nature.com
January 26, 2026 at 11:26 AM
A win for antibiotic discovery—and for all of us.

The Gates Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, and Wellcome are committing $60M to accelerate next-generation antibiotics and combat AMR.

18 projects. 17 countries. One mission.

Read here➡️ www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/media-...
New Global Consortium Aims to Transform Antibiotic Discovery to Counter the Growing AMR Crisis
Philanthropic partners invest $60M to support collaborative research to accelerate the discovery of next-generation antibiotics
www.gatesfoundation.org
January 23, 2026 at 7:56 AM
Startup Pitch Event finalists are here!
See them live at the 10th AMR Conference in Basel on March 3, 6pm CET, moderated by Guillermo Tramontin & sponsored by VOSSIUS.

Meet the finalists: www.incate.net/finalists-su...

#AMRConference #StartupPitch
The Finalists for the Startup Pitch Event 2026 are in! - INCATE
Every year, selecting the finalists for the Startup Pitch Event [...]
www.incate.net
January 22, 2026 at 7:12 AM
More good news in 2026!
INCATE is proud to partner with the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA) to strengthen the Japan–Europe AMR ecosystem and accelerate innovation in antimicrobial prevention, therapies, and tools.
👉 www.incate.net/jpma-and-inc...

#AMR #AntimicrobialResistance
January 21, 2026 at 9:12 AM
From Berlin to Valencia!

Targeting Phage Therapy has reached a turning point. Berlin showed proof of concept: Valencia is about implementation.

🗓 June 11–12, 2026
📍 Valencia, Spain

Call for Abstracts:
• Oral: May 9, 2026
• Posters: May 13, 2026

Info & registration ➡️ phagetherapy-site.com
January 20, 2026 at 8:29 AM
INCATE will be attending ACC2026 — the annual open-access, online Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Conference.

📅 4–5 February, 2026
📍 Free and fully online

We look forward to connecting with colleagues and partners across the AMR ecosystem.

Register here ➡️ bsac.eventsair.com/antimicrobia...
January 19, 2026 at 8:10 AM
Antibacterial medicines save lives — but funding is falling short.
A new @thelancet.com paper shows public and philanthropic investment in antibacterial R&D has dropped 18% since 2020, with funding concentrated among few players and early research declining.
➡️ www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
An overview of global public and philanthropic investments into antibacterial therapeutics (2017–23)
Antibacterial research and development (R&D) increasingly relies on public and philanthropic investments over private investments and on academia and small businesses over large pharmaceutical compani...
www.thelancet.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:51 AM
What happens when evolution leaves Earth?
A new study from the International Space Station shows that bacteria and the viruses that infect them evolve differently in microgravity.

Space isn’t just exploration. It’s a biology lab.

Read paper ➡️ journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Microgravity reshapes bacteriophage–host coevolution aboard the International Space Station
Phage-host interactions have a role shaping microbial ecosystems, but their behavior in microgravity remains largely unexplored. In this study, experiments aboard the ISS reveal distinct evolutionary ...
journals.plos.org
January 15, 2026 at 8:29 AM
Starting 2026 with great news!
We are thrilled to welcome Basilea Pharmaceutica as a new industry partner. This collaboration not only brings strong antibacterial expertise but also expands our scope to antifungals.

Read here ➡️ www.incate.net/basilea-join...
Basilea joins INCATE to support antifungal innovation - INCATE
January 13, 2026 — INCATE (INCubator for Antibacterial Therapies in [...]
www.incate.net
January 13, 2026 at 7:21 AM
Late last year, Bugworks Research Inc. reported in Communications Biology the first crystal structure of Gram-negative topoisomerase IV, highlighting how BWC0977’s dual-target activity combats MDR pathogens and supports its potential against AMR.

Read here ➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s42...

#AMR
January 12, 2026 at 7:29 AM