It is an honour to introduce the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy’s 2024 to 2025 Annual Impact Report – my first as CEO, having been promoted to the role in January 2025. It has been a year of transition, not only for our Society but for the wider antimicrobial resistance (AMR) landscape, as we continue to navigate an increasingly complex global environment.
And the nature of that complexity has served to reinforce what BSAC has long argued: AMR is a medical emergency, and that the most significant modifiable factor in its trajectory is our use of antibiotics. Antimicrobial stewardship is, therefore, not simply a technical priority – it is an ethical and societal imperative.
In response, BSAC has sharpened its focus on education, training, and quality improvement as the foundations of effective stewardship. Over the past year – as you will see in this report – we have expanded our flagship programmes and intensified our advocacy, ensuring that our fast-growing global membership is equipped, connected, and empowered to make change whatever their practice, wherever they practice it. We have continued to strengthen our partnerships and extend our reach, supporting innovation and best practice across diverse settings.
This report reflects the collective effort of our community – clinicians, scientists, educators, policy leaders, and partners – working together to safeguard the future of antimicrobial medicine. We are proud of the progress made and the impact delivered over the past year.
We look forward to continuing this work with you in the year ahead.
Michael Corley
CEO, BSAC
Membership
Our member-base continues to go from strength to strength, with more than 9,000 members across 135 countries. Our diverse community includes pharmacists, microbiologists, and students united by a shared commitment to tackling infection and antimicrobial resistance.
> 9000 BSAC members
23% membership increase
135 countries
Multidisciplinary membership across human health, animal health, and the environment
Events
Our events programme continues to flourish, with more events and delegates than ever before as we expand our global audience. This year, our Spring and Winter Conferences returned to Birmingham, where they were exceptionally well received by attendees from across the world.
33 events
Hybrid 3 | Webinars/online conferences 18 | Workshops (in-person) 12
6118 registrations
241 speakers
142 countries represented
In 2025 our Spring Conference was welcomed home to Birmingham.
We hosted our first paediatric focused OPAT workshop as part of our in person regional workshop series.
Our first two-day Academic Publishing Workshop took place in Birmingham and provided practical and interesting insights into academic publishing, peer review and editorial roles.
Feedback
Great content and speakers, excellent networking opportunities, fantastic organisation. Highly enjoyable
Possibly my favourite BSAC conference so far! I am looking forward to next year’s
This was one of the most helpful and exciting development days I have ever attended
Education
Our open-access eLearning platform continues to be a source of pride, with more than a quarter of a million learners worldwide. It remains a cornerstone of our mission to equip the global healthcare workforce with the knowledge and skills needed to tackle infection and antimicrobial resistance.
292,986 total number of learners
All time, across all BSAC platforms
Top 5 countries
New courses launched:
Metallo-β-Lactamase (MBL) Infections: Diagnosis and Management
Optimise Aminoglycoside Use in Clinical Practice
Invasive Fungal Diseases: What the Healthcare Professional Needs to Know
UTI Masterclass
Flagship Projects
Global Antimicrobial Stewardship Accreditation Scheme (GAMSAS)
We are proud to have established the Global Antimicrobial Stewardship Accreditation Scheme (GAMSAS), a continuous quality improvement programme seeking to identify barriers to successful stewardship practice and build a global community of accredited AMS Centres of Excellence. The GAMSAS scheme features as a case study in the current UK AMR NAP.
22 organisations have been accredited
6 organisations have been recognised as centres of excellence
Which countries?
Organisations in Egypt, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America have been accredited.
Organisations in Botswana, Egypt, Georgia, Ireland, Kenya, Lebanon and Pakistan are undergoing or working towards accreditation.
Advocacy
This year, we strengthened our political advocacy with the appointment of Public Affairs Lead Rhian Foley and continued providing the secretariat for the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (APPG on AMR), uniting MPs and peers to drive action on AMR. We also continued our Parliamentary Internship Programme, placing PhD students in the offices of Dr Beccy Cooper MP, Baroness Natalie Bennett, and Dr Danny Chambers MP to help develop the next generation of AMR and health policy leaders.
AMR in UK national security
Following cuts to the UK aid budget and launch of a new security strategy, the APPG highlighted AMR as a security threat — holding an emergency meeting on AMR and conflict, examining lessons from Ukraine, and urging ministers to recognise AMR as a systemic national risk.
UK leadership after the Fleming Fund
The APPG worked with international partners to propose actions for continued UK AMR leadership, sending recommendations to Baroness Chapman and calling for the UK to host the 2028 Global AMR Ministerial Meeting, marking 100 years of penicillin.
Ongoing advocacy
The APPG will keep pushing for AMR to be made a top political priority — including investment in surveillance, rapid diagnostics in conflict settings, sustained global leadership, and diagnostic reform to protect the NHS and improve outcomes.
Publications
Our flagship journal, Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (JAC), remains a leading source of high-quality research and clinical insight in the field of antimicrobial resistance and infectious diseases. Its sister publication, JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance (JAC-AMR), continues to grow in reach and reputation, providing an open-access platform for innovative, interdisciplinary research that advances global efforts to combat AMR.
470 articles published, including 172 open access articles
> 3 million times the full text of articles were accessed
academic.oup.com/jac
231 articles plus 121 conference abstracts published (all open access)
> 400,000 times the full text of articles were accessed
academic.oup.com/jacamr
Funding and partners
Our elearning sponsors
Our events sponsors
Our GAMSAS supporters
Our grants
Global AMS Support grant
pAMS Educational Programme
Pfizer Aztreionam Avibactam Study Grant
The THMF Legacy Fund grant
Financial
Income - £2,678,939
Expenditure - £2,335,817
Of which directly charitable spend £1,306,861 (56%)
Low governance costs of £70,076 (3%)
Download a copy of the BSAC accounts here
See our latest accountsSince year end
The following activities took place after the reporting period ended; further detail will be provided in next year’s impact report.
Leadership to Embed AMS into Practice (LEAP)
- Launched in September 2025, this leadership mentoring programme supports healthcare professionals to strengthen and embed antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in clinical settings while developing leadership skills
- Includes two pilot schemes in highly deprived UK areas, focusing on AMS and antifungal stewardship
GAMSAS
- Continued global accreditation work since October 2025, including centres in Ireland and Kenya
- Engagement in Egypt included celebrating five hospital accreditations and strengthening relationships with the Ministry of Health
Advocacy
- Parliamentary engagement highlighted the role of diagnostics, defence, and drug development in tackling AMR, including meetings during World Antimicrobial Awareness Week and visits to Porton Down
- Launched the Global Parliament vs AMR Initiative to build international political leadership on AMR
Outreach
- Hosted the London debut of LifeLine: The Musical, showcasing AMR through a unique collaboration between scientists and performers
- Launched a global Members’ Photography Competition to spotlight the AMR workforce, with winning entries featured at events and across communications
Membership Survey
In Spring 2026, BSAC invited all members to participate in a membership survey so that BSAC can ensure that our projects, events, resources, advocacy efforts, and communications reflect the global BSAC community and the many professions and career stages we represent.
Highlights
Many members expressed a desire for BSAC to facilitate learning and sharing between members, communities and countries. Members want to hear what works and take inspiration from others.
We asked our members based in England whether they feel they have adequate support and access to AMS tools. Fewer than half agreed that they did, showing a huge gap to fill.
We asked our members what they see as the main barriers to AMS in their country.
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