Expert panel: IPC Partnership with Genpax

Background

IPC Partners collaborated with Genpax to convene an expert panel focused on the transformative potential of proactive whole genome sequencing (WGS) in NHS Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) to improve the surveillance and detection of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) and outbreaks. Genpax, a pioneering genomics company, developed IDEM—a high-resolution, reference-free WGS analysis platform designed to detect and prevent pathogen transmission. The panel aimed to explore the real-world benefits of proactive WGS and evaluate the implementation of IDEM within NHS acute Trusts.

The challenge

Despite the promise of WGS, its adoption in NHS settings remains limited due to barriers such as cost, lack of expertise, and insufficient evidence of clinical and economic benefits. Genpax sought to understand how proactive WGS could be effectively implemented and evaluated in NHS Trusts and reached out to IPC Partners for their support. IPC Partners organised a multidisciplinary virtual expert panel, ensuring a focused discussion through a comprehensive pre-read and targeted questions.

The expert panel

IPC Partners leveraged their extensive network to assemble a diverse panel of experts, including clinical microbiologists, infectious disease specialists, and clinical scientists. The panel featured professionals from leading NHS Trusts and academic institutions, ensuring a rounded and informed dialogue. IPC Partners convened the discussions to ensure that actionable insights were generated

The outputs

The panel discussions were divided into two parts. The first focused on the real-world benefits of proactive WGS, highlighting its ability to detect transmission clusters early, support targeted interventions, and improve patient outcomes. The second part evaluated IDEM’s role in enabling scalable, rapid, and accurate WGS analysis without requiring local bioinformatics expertise.

Key themes included the need for evidence to support business cases, the importance of stakeholder engagement, and the potential health economic benefits such as reduced healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs), optimised IPC resource deployment, and decreased antibiotic and PPE usage. The panel also emphasized the importance of integrating WGS into routine diagnostics and developing agile systems to accommodate technological advancements. The discussion and outputs informed and enabled Genpax to make the changes to their approach and strategy relating to the implementation of IDEM in acute NHS Trusts.