NG Biotech Distributor Meeting, ESKAPE 2021

Recently, Carolyne Horner represented Una Health at a 3-day NG Biotech distributor meeting in Rennes, France (6 – 8 October).

NG Biotech manufacture lateral flow assays to detect mechanisms of resistance direct from bacterial culture, namely CARBA-5 (detection of carbapenemases), CTX-M Multi (detection of the CTX-M groups of extended spectrum beta-lactamases) and MCR-1 (detection of the mcr 1-2 genes for mobilised colistin resistance).

More than 20 distributors from 15 countries attended the meeting, mainly countries in Europe, but also as far afield as Qatar, Korea and Brazil.

The meeting comprised:

• Presentations from Hervé Holland, Thierry Naas, and Rafael Canton, three key opinion leaders and main NG Biotech collaborators, who described stages in the development of NG Biotech AMR products and the clinical importance of these kits.
• Presentations from the NG Biotech team providing updates about competitor products and market analysis.
• Contributions from five specific distributors who shared insights into CARBA-5 marketing practices in different countries, namely Brazil, England, Germany, Korea, and Spain.
• Awards were given to three distributors (from Brazil, Korea and Spain) in recognition of their achievements during the past 12 months.
• A visit around the two NG Biotech sites: the main production site and the site where R&D takes place.

Attendance at a face-to-face meeting was refreshing in a COVID-restricted world, provided a valuable opportunity to learn from other distributors and strengthen global relationships.

Many thanks to all those involved in organising this highly successful event, in particular, Boris Crepey, Roger Marginet and Antonio Soares.