Shaping the Future of Rapid AMR Diagnostics: Stakeholder Perspectives on DRAIGON

On 30 October 2025, DRAIGON Consortium and leading experts convened in Heidelberg, Germany, for the workshop “Shaping the Future of Rapid AMR Diagnostics: Stakeholder Perspectives on DRAIGON.” The event was organized by the European Vaccine Initiative (EVI) and focused on collecting stakeholder feedback on the practical implementation of the DRAIGON prototype across a range of scenarios and settings.

The workshop brought together specialists from across Europe, including experts in clinical microbiology, infectious diseases, innovative diagnostics, next-generation sequencing (NGS), bioinformatics, and health economics. 

The sessions addressed several key themes: 

• Workflow and Technical Implementation: Partners outlined DRAIGON’s pipeline and demonstrated how genomic analysis and artificial intelligence can enable faster and more accurate AMR detection. 

• Clinical Integration: Case studies focused on bloodstream infections (BSI) and periprosthetic joint infections (PJI), exploring the potential of DRAIGON prototype to support rapid clinical decision-making and improve treatment outcomes. 

• Health and Economic Impact: Discussions assessed the benefits of implementing DRAIGON in hospital and public-health settings. 

• Integration in Low- and Middle-Resource Settings: A case study from Albania highlighted challenges and opportunities for deploying the system in resource-limited healthcare environments. 

Each session was followed by a panel discussion, providing an opportunity for experts to engage in dialogue with attendees through Q&A and feedback. 

One of the standout moments was the keynote by Etienne Ruppé from Hôpital Bichat Claude Bernard, who spoke about what do clinicians expect from next-generation sequencing in infectious diseases 

The workshop successfully gathered multidisciplinary feedback on how to optimise DRAIGON’s design, usability, and implementation strategy. Participants identified practical barriers, shared lessons from diverse clinical contexts, and proposed solutions to support wider adoption. The event reaffirmed the importance of international collaboration in tackling antimicrobial resistance through innovation and technology. 

The valuable lessons shared by participants will directly shape the next steps in DRAIGON’s planning and implementation. 

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101137383. 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.