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The
Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) held its 5th
Drug Discovery for Neurodegeneration: An Intensive Course on
Translating Research into Drugs in San Diego, CA on February
6-8, 2011. This annual didactic conference is focused on
training scientists on the process of translating research
findings into treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.
Approximately 145 scientists from academia, industry and
goverment, across career levels and disciplines, attended. In
addition, to foster the growth of the next generation of drug
discovery researchers, the ADDF awarded 26 scholarships to young
investigator to attend the conference and present posters of
their research. Read more>>
The
conference commenced with plenary speaker, Berislav Zlokovic
from Rochester University, who spoke about the biology of the
blood-brain barrier with relevance to central nervous system
drug discovery. Sessions of the conference focused on
medicinal chemistry for biologists, early phases of drug
discovery – from high throughput screening through lead
optimization to pre-clinical proof of concept, and preparing the
scientific and regulatory requirements for clinical trials. The
conference also covered pertinent issues related to technology
transfer and working with industry partners as well as
real-world case studies across the neurodegenerative disease
spectrum (Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS and
Multiple Sclerosis).
The conference also included
ample time for networking for investigators to exchange ideas
and foster the future collaborations needed for successful drug
discovery programs. A full meeting summary and tutorial,
including a listing of the relevant resources presented in the
conference, will be posted on the conference website as will
video casts of the presentations.
This
meeting was made possible through the successful collaboration
among government, industry and multiple disease foundations:
Cooperative Agreement 2U13AG031125 from the National Institute
on Aging and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders
and Stroke; Merck Research Laboratories; Biogen Idec; The
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research; Beyond
Batten Disease Foundation; JSW Life Sciences; Fast Forward LLC;
ALS Therapy Development Institute; and Novus Biologics. |
