A great success for the 2nd NovAliX Conference “Biophysics in Drug Discovery”
The 2nd NovAliX Conference “Biophysics in Drug Discovery” was held last week in Strasbourg, and it was a great success ! About 200 scientists gathered from around the world (Europe, US, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, and Australia) to join the event. With a strong industry presence, representatives from the top pharmaceutical corporations and high-profile biotech companies mingled with academic leaders to discuss the latest advancements in the field.
The increasing synergy between biophysics and medicinal chemistry was again illustrated during three days through 22 high-level oral presentations. The scientific program included a session on method development and emerging technologies, three sessions on hot topics, two on therapeutic target families (membrane proteins and epigenetic targets) and one on methodology (use of kinetics), and a session on the impact of biophysics where industry experts brought a broader picture on the complex drug discovery process.
It appears that biophysical techniques are more and more used as varied combinations, not only to address specific problems and to overcome limitations of individual techniques, but also to cross-validate the results. Besides, the biophysical toolbox is constantly evolving to tackle more and more challenging problems and to address unanswered questions. The programme was completed by a poster session and a stimulating round table discussion which highlighted a few actual needs : technologies (ideally label-free) to evaluate target engagement, which is key for drug efficacy, techniques to study membrane proteins in the most native-like environment, techniques for single molecule studies, and assays of greatest physiological relevance. I would like to warmly thank the members of the Scientific Committee as well as all the speakers and all the participants for their contribution to a great meeting.
This is also the opportunity to announce that the 3rd NovAliX Conference “Biophysics in Drug Discovery” will be held in Strasbourg June 7-10, 2016. New topics will be covered, including cryo-electron microscopy with a dedicated session and workshop. Thank you again for your vivid presence and see you there next year !
Jean-Paul Renaud, Conference Chairman