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ITCH-AMP Kick-off Meeting

The kick-off meeting of the ITCH-AMP – Integrating Transborder Collaboration for Combating High-Resistance Bacteria with AI-Enhanced Modified Phages project took place between Sion and Monthey (Switzerland), marking the official start of project activities.

The project, which started on January 1st, 2026, has a duration of 30 months and a total budget of €732,174. Funded under the Interreg VI-A Italy–Switzerland Cooperation Programme, ITCH-AMP addresses the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with a particular focus on infections associated with bacterial biofilms.

The University of Eastern Piedmont (UPO), leading partner of the project, was represented by Prof. Alberto Massarotti, Prof. Letizia Fracchia, and research fellow Andrea Chiara Sansotera from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The morning session, held in Sion, opened with institutional remarks by Elena Recchia (Project Manager) and Yves Darbellay (Representative of the Canton of Valais), who conveyed greetings from the Managing Authority, the Regions of Lombardy and Piedmont, and the Cantons of Ticino and Valais. Representatives of project partners Precise Health SA (Switzerland) and Adamastor Bioservices Srl (Italy) also attended the meeting.

In the afternoon, participants visited BioArk in Monthey, including a tour of the Valais technology park. BioArk, together with HES-SO Valais-Wallis, is involved in the project as an associated organization.

The meeting represented a key milestone for coordinating initial activities, fostering discussion among partners and defining the first operational steps. The project aims to develop a cross-border biotechnological platform for the design and validation of innovative therapies based on bacteriophages and engineered proteins, supported by artificial intelligence tools.