Discovery & Development US 2026
Hilton San Diego Bayfront, CA
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High Throughput Screening
Industry PresentationThe Power Of Partnerships: Aligning Pharma, Biotech, And Academia To Accelerate Development & Innovation
Panel Discussion• Bridging cultures and goals
• Shared resources and expertise
• Accelerating translation
• How partnerships can streamline moving discoveries from the lab to clinical development and market
Automation & AI: Examples From Recursion
Industry PresentationBreaking The First In Class Barrier In Small Molecule Drug Discovery
KeynoteThe Target Validation Frontier: Multi-Omics And AI In Drug Discovery
Panel Discussion• Standardization and integration of omics datasets across platforms and labs
• Balancing computational predictions with experimental validation
• Challenges in scaling multi-omics for high-throughput target ID
• Regulatory considerations for omics-informed drug development
• Where AI fits in multi-omics pipelines
Foundation Models For Chemistry: A New Paradigm In Hit Discovery And Lead Optimization
Industry PresentationSolving The Right Problems – Finding AI’s Value In Drug Discovery
Panel Discussion• How to use AI/ML to solve drug discovery problems
• Success metrics
• Overcoming validation hurdles
CNS Drug Repurposing Using AI/ML Frameworks
Industry PresentationDelivering Therapies Across The Blood-Brain Barrier
Panel Discussion• Developing optimized BBB models for drug discovery
• Predicting future
• Recent technological advancements & platforms
• Challenges and unities for the delivery of biopharmaceuticals
• Using nasal to brain route
Novel Hit Identification Techniques
Industry PresentationTechnological Advancements For The Discovery Of New Targets
Industry PresentationChallenges In Lead Discovery For Viral Macrodomains: When Standard Cell Models Fail
Industry PresentationIn this talk, a successful effort to discover leads targeting a viral macrodomain will be detailed. In particular, the inability of standard cellular models to fully capture relevant interactions of virus and host cell presents a challenge for this class of targets. The approaches used to overcome this limitation will be discussed.
Astellas's TPD Strategy and Updates from the KRAS Degrader Pipeline
Industry PresentationAn overview of Astellas’ targeted protein degradation strategy and portfolio, highlighting recent progress from the KRAS degrader ASP3082 and the development of our pan-KRAS degrader program ASP5834.
Pushing The Boundaries Of Target Discovery In 2026 & Beyond – New Technologies, Approaches, Industry Directions
Panel Discussion• The evolution of modalities
• When to pursue small molecules, ADCs, protein degraders, RNA modalities, or multi-modal approaches
Applications Of High-Throughput Data Collection In AI/ML
KeynoteMulticellular Perturbation Models For Drug Discovery
Industry Presentation• AI architecture for virtual clinical trials and phenotypic in silico drug discovery
• Building TRAILBLAZER, the first AI foundation model built specifically for multicellular biology, capable of simulating patient-level treatment outcomes
• Case studies of phenotypic in silico drug discovery and modeling multicellular patient responses to treatments
Generative AI-Guided Selections for GPCR Antibody Discovery
Industry PresentationIntegrating Human-Centric Biology, AI, & New Approach Methodologies For Phase 1 Clinical Trials
Industry PresentationThe Degrader & Glue Landscape In 2026
Industry PresentationNovel Models For ADME-Tox Research
Industry PresentationAdvancing Multimodal Omics Data In Drug Discovery
Industry PresentationAI In Drug Discovery
Industry PresentationAccelerating the DMTA cycle through AI adoption and automation
Industry Presentation- Drug discovery follows the design–make–test–analyze cycle.
- AI/ML is transforming data analysis and molecular design.
- Automation can accelerate compound synthesis and testing.
- Together, they can close the DMTA loop and achieve efficiencies at an unprecedented scale.
From Screening to Pharmacology: Optimization of Molecular Glue Degraders
Industry PresentationWhere Smart Capital Meets Science: Investing In The Next Wave Of Drug Discovery Innovation
Panel Discussion• How investors evaluate emerging drug discovery technologies
o AI in drug discovery
• What drives funding decisions in a shifting biotech market
• Where capital is flowing next
• How investor are looking at non-dilutive founding
Lab Digitalization & AI
Industry PresentationBeyond The Hype: AI, Data & The Industry Shift In Drug Discovery R&D
Panel Discussion• How industry dynamics are reshaping pharma R&D strategy & decision-making
• Digital transformation, AI & data-driven labs of the future
• What leaders need to prioritize to turn innovation into real scientific & business impact
Challanges Of Adopting NAMs: Regulatory & Technical Bottlenecks
Roundtable Discussion• Navigating regulatory uncertainty, validation standards, and industry confidence when integrating NAMs into development pipelines
• Overcoming technical hurdles including model reproducibility, data translation, scalability, and cross-platform comparability
Hit finding and Characterization in Covalent Drug Discovery
Industry Presentation- Strategic application of complementary approaches for covalent hit finding in vitro and in cells
- Chemoproteomics applications for hit characterization and determination of novel ligandable sites on targets of interest
- Library considerations for covalent hit finding at Novartis
What If DNA No Longer Set the Timeline?
Panel DiscussionDNA is foundational to advanced therapies, yet traditional plasmid production can introduce delays before development has truly begun. Drawing on more than two decades developing nucleic acid medicines, Kate Broderick, PhD, will explore how cell-free synthetic DNA can remove that early constraint—enabling faster iteration, greater design flexibility, and a more direct path from promising science to scalable manufacturing and, ultimately, to patients.
From Innovation to Impact: Market Strategies Driving the Next Wave of Drug Delivery Technologies
Panel Discussion• What actually defines a “successful” delivery innovation in the market?
• From lab breakthrough to commercial product: where do most strategies fail?
• Pharma vs biotech vs academia: who owns the pathway to market?
• Market access and reimbursement as the real gatekeepers of innovation
Solution Provider Presentation
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Solution Provider PresentationThe Use Of Quantum Mechanics In The Future Of Drug Discovery
Roundtable Discussion• Implementing AI to aid in generative design
• Looking to the future
Validation & Regulations For NAMs
Industry PresentationFrom Genetic Association To Allosteric Tractability: A Connected-Evidence Framework For TYK2 Target Validation
Solution Provider PresentationMost drug candidates fail in the clinic, and much of that attrition traces back to a target selected on incomplete or poorly connected evidence. This talk argues that the constraint is no longer data volume but data connection. Validation confidence depends on how rigorously independent lines of evidence are linked and stress-tested, and on treating drug ability and developability as validation criteria applied before commitment rather than downstream surprises. Using CAS BioFinder®, we present target identification and validation as one connected workflow, grounded in a real example: the validation of TYK2 in immune-mediated disease. We trace a path from a naturally occurring, partial loss-of-function protective variant (P1104A) that shields carriers from lupus and multiple sclerosis, through well-mapped JAK/STAT pathway biology, to the insight that allosteric inhibition of the regulatory pseudo kinase (JH2) domain confers selectivity over related JAK kinases. This is a convergence that no single data type could establish alone. Together, these threads illustrate how systematically integrating genetic, pathway, and structural evidence strengthens target rationale, exposes weak hypotheses earlier, and reframes tractability and developability as first-class criteria in the validation decision itself.
Advancing Drug Discovery With Human iPSC Neuroscience Models
Solution Provider PresentationThis presentation focuses on how human iPSC-derived CNS cells are improving the modelling of neurological disease and CNS drug discovery. A central theme is the development and functional relevance of NAM enabling assays and custom assay development.
How To Use NAMs
Panel Discussion• Organoids and organ-on-chip models
• In vitro disease modelling
• Toxicity and safety screening
• Disease biology
• PK/PD and toxicity modelling
• In silico models
• Implementation and application of NAMS
Solution Provider Presentation
Solution Provider PresentationSolution Provider Presentation
Solution Provider PresentationCell Free Antibody Engineering: Accelerating Discovery And Screening with PUREfrex®
Industry PresentationPUREfrex® is a fully reconstituted, cell free protein expression system enabling rapid, high throughput antibody engineering. It efficiently produces scFv, Fab, and IgG, and supports robust ribosome display (PUREfrexRD) for screening highly diverse libraries. Combined with AI/ML workflows, PUREfrex® accelerates discovery of next generation antibodies and cyclic peptide modalities with enhanced precision, flexibility, and scalability for biologics R&D.
Partnerships, Platforms Or Acquisitions: What Is The Winning Model For Brain Health Innovation?
Panel Discussioncollaboration models that actually work
• When to partner vs acquire vs build internally
• Data-sharing in a competitive landscape
• Public-private partnerships in USA: success stories & failures
Submission required
Solution Provider PresentationSubmission required
Integrating AI/ML And Automation In Discovery Chemistry
Industry PresentationNovel Organoids for Modelling Virus-induced Neuroinflammation
Industry PresentationThis presentation will discuss the development of new microphysiological models of sensory-innervated lung epithelium to investigate respiratory viral neurotropism and its implications for managing and treating the most common human respiratory diseases such as asthma, COPD, and pneumonia.
AI/ML, Specializing In Omics & Systems Biology
Industry PresentationMulti-Omics & Predictive Models
Industry PresentationMulti-Agentic AI For Drug Discovery and Development
Industry PresentationAI for drug discovery has largely focused on individual tasks such as target identification and molecular design, using machine learning, generative models, and, more recently, generative AI. A major limitation of many AI approaches, however, is that they remain point solutions addressing only one part of the drug discovery and development process. This presentation will explore how multi-agent AI systems can integrate multiple specialized tasks into a coordinated, end-to-end approach to drug discovery and development.
Development Of Small Molecule Huntington’s Disease Therapeutics With A Novel Mechanism Of Action
Industry Presentation• Hit identification in a phenotypic screen
• Demonstration of selective degradation of mutant huntingtin and cellular disease phenotype reversal
• PK/PD relationship in preclinical mouse models
Dealing With High Manufacturing And Product Costs In The Gene Therapy Space
Roundtable DiscussionFrom Oral to Inhaled: Lifecycle Delivery Strategies for Pulmonary Disease Therapeutics
Roundtable DiscussionWhen and why to consider alternative delivery routes as lifecycle extensions for oral drugs
Practical formulation, device, and regulatory considerations when repurposing a candidate for inhalation
Lessons learned and open questions across industry and academia
Small Molecules To Mitigate Cisplatin Toxicities Including Hearing Loss
Industry PresentationAI Rewiring The Future Of Drug Discovery
Keynote• Taking a deep dive into generative AI for molecular design to illustrate individual methods that have transformative implications
• Putting it all together – active learning and multi-property optimisation for multiple drug properties
• Using AI to integrate early and late-stage considerations – agentic AI approaches
• How do we collaborate across the industry to develop these frameworks?
Encapsulated Cell Therapy: Safe, Durable, And Broadly Applicable Ophthalmic Drug Delivery
Industry PresentationEncapsulated Cell Therapy (ECT) is a novel drug delivery mechanism, made up of device and biologic components into a single implantable product. This implant has a robust safety profile, is highly durable, and may be applicable to a broad range of disease states.
Reinventing CNS Drug Discovery With AI And Human Brain Organoids
Industry PresentationGenomics Technologies For Neurological Indications
Industry PresentationAI & In Silico Tools In Formulation Development
Roundtable DiscussionNew Data Tools For Taking Biomarkers To Clinical Trials
Industry PresentationInjectable & Sustainable Formulations For Oral Peptides
Roundtable Discussion• Overcoming bioavailability and stability challenges to enable effective oral peptide delivery through advanced injectable-to-oral formulation strategies
• Balancing patient convenience with sustainability by reducing waste, improving manufacturing efficiency, and designing greener peptide delivery systems
Critical Attributes For Successful mRNA Based Drug Products
Roundtable Discussion• What are critical elements for drug substance?
• What makes a good delivery system?
• How sustainable can mRNA-based drug products be?
Afternoon Break & Refreshments
Lunch Break
Morning Break & Refreshments
Close of Day One & Networking Drinks Reception
Lunch Break
End of Event
Morning Break & Refreshments
Regulatory Acceptance Of Efficacy And Safety Data For Neurological Diseases Utilizing Human-On-A-Chip Systems
Industry PresentationMultiple drugs have been repurposed into INDs for neurological diseases using only efficacy data from these models. Data will be prepared for ALS, Alzheimer's, Myasthenia Gravis, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease as well as others. Digital twins have been used to extrapolate in vitro data to in vivo outcomes.
Bridging The Translational Gap In Neurodegenerative Drug Development
Roundtable Discussion• Building more predictive preclinical programs using human-relevant models and biomarkers
• Leveraging AI to improve target prioritization, patient stratification, and clinical trial design
• Overcoming the biggest barriers to translating promising discoveries into clinical success
• What recent neuroscience programs have taught us about reducing late-stage attrition
Single-Cell And Spatial Omics Approaches For Functional Genomics In Neuroscience
Industry PresentationHow Early Should Developability And Drug Delivery Considerations Influence Target Selection And Lead Optimization Decisions?
Roundtable Discussion• What risks emerge when delivery and developability are addressed too late in the discovery process?
• Should delivery feasibility be a formal criterion when prioritizing targets?
• How can discovery and development teams collaborate earlier to improve program success rates?
From Discovery to Delivery: Turning Scientific Innovation into Commercial Success
Roundtable Discussion• What separates promising science from commercially viable innovation?
• Common pitfalls in translating research into therapeutics
• Building collaborations between academia, biotech, and pharma
• How startups can position themselves for investment and strategic partnerships
Delivery-Driven Innovation: Unlocking The Potential Of Next-Generation Therapeutics
Keynote• When delivery—not the molecule—is the bottleneck
• Overcoming barriers across peptides, CNS therapies & infectious diseases, and emerging modalities
• From AI to clinical use
Start Up Zone Presentations x2
Industry PresentationAccelerated Identification And Validation Of Therapeutic Targets For Autoimmune Diseases
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