European Microbiology Conference 2026

Dear Colleagues,

microbiological quality assurance is gaining importance with the rise of biological drugs. This includes faster testing methods for short shelf lives, viral contamination testing, new pyrogen tests aligned with 3R initiatives, and the analysis of DNA/RNA residues. Regulatory authorities now focus strongly on microbial control concepts described in product dossiers and inspected during audits. The annual European Microbiology Conference offers a platform to stay updated on challenges and share expertise. This year's anniversary conference will provide updates on the new and revised chapters of the most important pharmacopoeias, as well as insight into the expectations and experiences of GMP regulatory authorities with regard to microbiological QC and QA. In addition, speakers from laboratories and industry will present their practical experiences with new methods, their implementation and the potential stumbling blocks involved.

It has actually been 20 years since the current ECA Pharmaceutical Microbiology Working Group was founded, at that time still under the name Rapid Microbiology Methods Working Group. On 7 June 2006 the group consisting of 11 representatives from the European pharmaceutical industry and the PEI (the German Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedical Products) was launched at the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) to focus more closely on the topic of rapid methods. At this point, we would like to remember our two founding members, Dr Thomas Montag and Thomas Mikosch, who sadly passed away far too early.

Over the years, the group continued to grow and increasingly became the preferred point of contact for all microbiological topics, questions from members and other ECA working groups, and enquiries from authorities. Therefore, in 2015, the ECA and the Advisory Board decided to rename the group the ‘Pharmaceutical Microbiology Working Group’ and to expand its remit and activities. The group's goal is now to offer advice on all topics related to pharmaceutical microbiology, publish helpful guideline documents, and much more.