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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 | 7:30-8:15 AM (breakfast will be provided)

COLLABORATIVE CONVERSATIONS FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE
Moderators:
Charu Chaudhry, PhD, Associate Director, Molecular Pharmacology, J&J Innovative Medicine
Andrea Geist, Senior Scientist, R&D, EMD Serono

Building a reputation inside pharma, biotech, academia, or VC circles
How and when to say yes/no strategically
Getting credit for ideas, publications, and project wins; navigating promotion
Evaluating alternative careers in science
Prioritizing work-life balance

BEDSIDE TO BENCH- DRIVING RESEARCH THAT HAS REAL PATIENT IMPACT
Moderators:
Michael Liebman, PhD, Managing Director, IPQ Analytics, LLC
Neil Pfister, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, Research Division, Numenos

Need to evolve from precision medicine towards accurate medicine to better identify and define causality
Use of technology to identify appropriate targets for drug development, including AI/ML methods
AI-based approaches to human-first reverse translation, which means starting from the true unmet clinical need (identified in patients)
Identifying therapy combinations and overcoming drug resistance mechanisms

WINNING THE RACE AGAINST CANCER THERAPY RESISTANCE
Moderator: Neil A. Bhowmick, CSO, Kairos Pharma Ltd.

How can we target the adaptive states that precede resistance
How do we prioritize drug combinations?
How can computational approaches accelerate target identification?
What will define the next discovery to have clinical impact?

CHALLENGES IN SMALL MOLECULE DISCOVERY FOR AUTOIMMUNE TARGETS
Moderator: Wankyu Lee, PhD, Industry Research Analyst, Drug Hunter

What immune biology is underexplored and where are the opportunities to explore novel therapeutic strategies/hypotheses
How do we best match modalities to the target biology in immunology? (Modalties such as: antibodies, oligonucleotides, degraders, inhibitors). STAT6 as an example - degradation vs inhibition?
Establishing preclinical proof of concepts for better in vivo translation and better toxicology prediction
What do we think the next blockbuster immunology drug will look like?

NEW SCREENING TOOLS FOR DESIGN & OPTIMIZATION OF MOLECULAR GLUES
Moderators:
Maria Soloveychik, PhD, Co-Founder & CEO, SyntheX
Jin Wang, PhD, Director, Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Baylor College of Medicine
Thomas Kodadek, PhD, Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Scripps Biomedical Research

Rational design frameworks to make glue discovery systematic and not serendipitous
Optimizing screening tools and throughput for molecular glue discovery
The promise of AI/ML-assisted molecular glue design
Building a scalable discovery engine for molecular glues
Overcoming tissue specificity challenges

EXPLORING NEW CHEMISTRIES AND CELLULAR PATHWAYS FOR DEVELOPING NEXT-GENERATION DEGRADERS
Moderators:
Alexander Alanine, PhD, Senior Vice President, Head of Chemistry, TRIMTECH Therapeutics Limited
Others to be announced

Designing more drug-like PROTACs and glues with improved bioavailability
Developing tissue-selective and CNS penetrant degraders
Expanding beyond CRBN/VHL ligases
Learnings from pursuing historically challenging drug targets using PROTACs
Overcoming safety, IVIVC translation, and resistance concerns

COVALENT DRUG DESIGN STRATEGIES
Moderator: Jack Sloane, PhD, Principal Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry, Bristol-Myers Squibb

How to start? Build from fragments? Convert potent binders?
Novel warhead options
Beyond cysteine: targeting other nucleophilic amino acids

MODERN GPCR-TARGETED DRUG DISCOVERY
Moderator: Marek Orzechowski, PhD, Director, Computational Chemistry, Superluminal Medicines Inc

Which hit-finding strategies are delivering tractable GPCR leads right now: DNA-encoded libraries, fragment-based, virtual screening, or phenotypic?
Where is AI/ML changing the GPCR discovery workflow, and where is it still overpromising?
Which functional readouts (G protein, arrestin, second messenger) do teams trust enough to drive go/no-go decisions, and when does biased signaling become a real design goal?

SURGE IN PROTEOMICS & D2B SCREENING METHODOLOGIES
Moderators:
Steve Gygi, PhD, Professor, Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School
Others to be announced

Using D2B and proteomics screening to tackle previously "undruggable" targets
Successful applications of D2B screening for hit-to-lead and more
Chemoproteomics for target identification and covalent drug discovery
Applications of high-throughput, single-cell, live cell mass spectrometry and quantitative proteomics
Integrating multi-omics datasets for drug discovery

ADVANCES IN AI/ML-GUIDED DRUG DISCOVERY- WHAT’S WORKING
Moderators:
Daniel J. Haders II, PhD, CEO, Model Medicines
Others to be announced

AI-designed drugs receiving regulatory approval
AI-driven pipeline showing faster transition and improved probability of success
Success stories on AI-guided target and lead discovery
Increased use of foundation models, generative chemistry, quantum AI
Evidence measuring ROI to drive investments in AI

THE FUTURE OF FUNCTIONAL BIOLOGICS: HOW AI IS CHANGING TARGET DISCOVERY, DESIGN, AND THERAPEUTIC MODULATION
Moderator: Alon Wellner, Vice President, Biology, Co-Founder, Aureka Biotechnologies

Moving Beyond Binding: Designing for Function
Data Bottlenecks in AI-Driven Drug Discovery
The Convergence of Computation and Experimentation
Expanding the Druggable Genome
Measuring Success and Adoption

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMMUNE-MODULATING ANTIBODY CONJUGATES
Moderator: L. Nathan Tumey, PhD, Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences, SUNY Binghamton

How can immune-stimulating antibody conjugates (ISACs) demonstrate superiority or differentiation from traditional cytotoxic ADCs in preclinical models?
What are some unique challenges associate with moving ADC technology from oncology into immunology applications?
How can teams understand the risk of immunogenicity in preclinical animal models?
Is at-home subcutaneous dosing a “nice-to-have” or a “must-have” for ADCs in autoimmune diseases? How can properties for SQ dosing be designed into the ADC early in the design phase?

ADVOCACY ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: ADDRESSING PATIENT ACCESS TO RADIOLIGAND THERAPY
Moderators:
Mike Crosby, Ambassador & Board Member, Oncidium Foundation
Jean-Luc Vanderheyden, PhD, Head, Oncidium Foundation

How advocacy organizations can help patients and caregivers better understand radioligand therapy, theranostics, and available treatment options
Practical barriers patients face in accessing RLT, including geographic location, referral pathways, insurance coverage, financial burden, and treatment-site availability
How industry, treatment centers, clinicians, and advocacy groups can collaborate responsibly to improve education, awareness, and patient navigation
Opportunities to build stronger patient-centered resources, including site-finder tools, educational materials, community outreach, and support programs for underserved populations

THE NEXT WAVE OF RADIOPHARMACEUTICAL INNOVATION: WHERE ARE THE REAL OPPORTUNITIES?
Moderator: Muhammet Tanc, PhD, CEO, Nuclide Therapeutics

Exploring where the biggest opportunities may emerge: new target biology, underserved tumor types, improved patient selection, or next-generation isotopes
Discussing how to distinguish attractive scientific ideas from opportunities that are truly translatable, scalable, and commercially viable
Sharing perspectives on what biotech, pharma, academia, and investors each need to see before committing to the next wave of radiopharmaceutical programs

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 | 5:50-6:30 PM

CONNECT THE DOTs: START-UPs & FUNDING
Moderators:
Shruthi Bharadwaj, PhD, Technical Staff, MIT
Rhonda Wallen, CEO & Advisor

Life science market trends and its impact on R&D
Startup formation: when a discovery becomes a company
Investor appetite and what makes science “fundable”
What makes good research get noticed
Evaluating funding options: private, government, partnerships

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2026 | 7:30-8:15 AM (breakfast will be provided)

SETTING UP COLLABORATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS
Moderators:
Shruthi Bharadwaj, PhD, Technical Staff, MIT
Elena Diez Cecilia, PhD, MBA, Senior Director, External Innovation, JNJ Innovation Center

Market trends and how they affect R&D priorities
AI impact on changing workflows
Pharma/academia-biotech partnerships
End-user/service provider partnerships
How to choose the right partner for collaboration?

CONNECT THE DOTs: CAREER GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES
Moderators:
Devesh Aggarwal, Scientist, Biologics Engineering, AstraZeneca
Francis X. Wilson, PhD, CSO, Avacta Life Sciences

Career paths: academia vs biotech vs pharma vs VC/startups
Talent gaps in drug discovery
The future of scientific careers as AI changes workflows
How to move from strong contributor to recognized leader
What are the non-scientific skills that help your career the most

DRUG DISCOVERY FOR HEALTHY AGING
Moderators:
Angelika Fretzen, PhD, MBA, COO & Technology Translation Director, Wyss Institute, Harvard University
Kathryn Rexrode, MD, MPH, Chief Academic Officer & Chief, Division of Women’s Health, Brigham & Women’s Hospital

Focusing on healthspan versus lifespan
Adopting a patient-centric in treating cancer, cardiovascular, neurodegeneration and other disorders
Strategies and advances for improving translational research
Understanding sex differences in immune response, metabolism, inflammation

EMERGING CONCEPTS IN NEURODEGENERATION
Moderator: Tauseef Butt, PhD, President & CEO, Progenra, Inc.

Lysosomal dysfunction and therapeutic opportunities
Mitochondria, why is it so hard to target for neurodegenerative drugs
Blood-based and reliable biomarkers for early detection of neurodegenerative diseases

EMERGENCE OF NEW MODALITIES & THEIR LIKEHOOD OF CLINICAL SUCCESS
Moderators:
Charu Chaudhry, PhD, Associate Director, Molecular Pharmacology, J&J Innovative Medicine
Others to be announced

Oral peptides, peptidomimetics, macrocycles
Drug conjugates and biomolecular condensates
Beyond oncology- new approaches to tackle autoimmunity, musculoskeletal disorders, inflammation
Strategies for priming the target tissue for improved response to drug treatment
Impact of AI/ML in helping new modalities improve their efficacy and safety profiles

PROS AND CONS OF DEGRADER CONJUGATES
Moderators:
John Brognard, PhD, Professor of Surgery, Upstate Medical University
Ryan Holmes, PhD, Associate Director, Chemistry, Prelude Therapeutics Inc

Updates on new degrader conjugate modalities in development
Choosing the right target for degradation
Optimization of linker design and payload release
Issues concerning choice and size of payload for conjugation
Overcoming the challenges around intracellular and tissue-specific delivery

DIRECT-TO-BIOLOGY (D2B)
Moderator: Ken Yamada, PhD, Associate Director, Global Discovery Chemistry, Novartis BioMedical Research

Why are you practicing or interested in D2B -- is it relatively new?
How do you build your D2B library: in solution or on solid phase?
How do you test them - MS, biochemical or cellular? Why or why not?
How can we scale D2B to tens of thousands and beyond? Any experiences with SEL/mixture ASMS or eOBOC functional screens?

SCIENTIFIC WORK IN THE AGE OF AI AGENTS
Moderators:
Arvind Rao, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan
Grant Stephen, CEO & Co-Founder, bPrescient, Inc.

What does a genuinely "scientifically aware" agentic platform look like in practice?
Does it make sense tackle a more constrained problem and expand, or work on broader, more ambitious projects?
Where are organizations seeing early adoption, and is measurable ROI emerging yet?
What friction points are slowing or blocking broader rollout?
What does this mean for the future of the scientific community?

BEYOND THE MODALITY: WHAT REALLY DETERMINES SUCCESS IN TARGETED CONJUGATES
Moderator: Keykavous Parang, PhD, Professor, Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chapman University

Which factors most strongly influence therapeutic success: target selection, linker design, payload, or delivery platform
What lessons can be shared across ADCs, PDCs, radioconjugates, and other emerging targeted conjugate technologies?
What scientific and translational advances are needed to improve efficacy, reduce toxicity, and expand patient access?

* 不測の事態により、事前の予告なしにプログラムが変更される場合があります。

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