On 28 May, partners, stakeholders, policymakers, and innovators gathered in Brussels and online to mark the end of three years of collaborative work under the RaDAR Project. The RaDAR Final Event brought together the full ecosystem behind the Rapid Detection and Control System for Antimicrobial Resistance (RaDAR), a Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) initiative co-funded by the EU COSME programme. Hosted by the Permanent Representation of the Government of Catalunya to the European Union, the event offered a rich programme of presentations, roundtables, and exchanges – a fitting celebration of a project that has pushed the boundaries of cross-border health procurement.
The morning opened with welcoming words from ACCIÓ and AQuAS, followed by a message from the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency. Maria Pons-Vizcarra, Project Manager at AQuAS, presented the overarching vision of RaDAR-PPI, a value-based, cross-border collaborative procurement model designed to tackle one of global healthcare’s most pressing challenges: antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
A central part of the event was dedicated to hearing directly from the hospitals, laboratories, and companies that carried out PPI activities on the ground. Each partner from the consortium shared the solutions they developed, the evidence they generated, and the lessons learned along the way. University of Naples Federico together with Kelyon presented their experience piloting innovative AMR detection approaches in an academic hospital setting. Institut Català d’Oncologia (ICO) alongside Durviz, Cepheid, and Informática Médica, demonstrated how cutting-edge diagnostics were integrated into oncology care pathways. Laboratori de Referència de Catalunya (LRC) and Hospital del Mar, working with Alifax, Altair Health, and Monlab, showcased a multi-partner solution combining laboratory automation and clinical data management. Resah, in collaboration with Nosotech, presented insights from their PPI experience in the French healthcare procurement context. Biogipuzkoa, together with Qualud, rounded off the morning session with their results from the Basque Country. These presentations offered a vivid picture of how RaDAR translated a shared challenge into concrete, locally-rooted innovations, each with its own context, and each contributing to a broader European body of evidence.
In the afternoon, the event shifted its gaze forward. Luis Lucena (Project Manager, INSERM) opened the afternoon with a One-Health perspective on AMR challenges, framing the discussion within a systemic view that bridges human health, animal health, and the environment. Then, a multi-stakeholder roundtable brought together voices from clinical practice, public health administration, and research to explore what a coordinated AMR response might look like beyond the project’s lifetime. One of the afternoon’s highlights was the presentation of the Value-Based Cross-Border Collaborative Public Procurement of Innovation Handbook introduced by Rossana Alessandrello, Value Based Procurement Director at AQuAS. This practical guide distils the methodological lessons of RaDAR into a replicable framework, a resource intended to support future PPI initiatives across Europe.
The final roundtable, moderated by Igor Kalinic (Head of Sector, EISMEA), explored the opportunities and conditions needed to scale PPI across health systems and industry. Participants from Resah, Consorci Salut i Social de Catalunya, the Belgian Cancer Centre (SCIENSANO), and AQuAS discussed how the collaborative model piloted by RaDAR could inspire the next generation of health innovation procurement.
The RaDAR Final Event was more than a closing chapter. It was a testament to what becomes possible when public health institutions, innovators, and policymakers work together with a shared purpose. After three years of collaboration, the partnerships forged, the evidence generated, and the tools developed through RaDAR are now a lasting contribution to Europe’s response to antimicrobial resistance.
The project may have concluded, but the work it has set in motion continues.
