Public-Private Forum “From Molecules to Treatments: Business Models for new Drug Discovery”

SCOPE

The modern-age drug discovery is a long and complex process that relies on multiple scientific disciplines and technologies, among which the use of multiple high-resolution structural biology methods. It also relies on strong partnerships between the various stakeholders – academia, pharmaceutical industry, SMEs, regulators, patients…
EATRIS, the European Research Infrastructure for Translational Medicine, and Biocat, the cluster organisation of life sciences and healthcare innovation in Catalonia, join forces to propose this forum within the frame of iNext-Discovery, an H2020 project enabling access to structural biology research infrastructures for all European researchers, with a triple objective:

• To make drug discovery scientists, including structural biologists, more familiar with the full drug-development process and the partnership opportunities it can offer, both in academia and industry
• To stimulate the wider uptake of early drug discovery methods and structural biology across scientific disciplines and research sectors
• To foster collaboration between the different drug discovery stakeholders

AUDIENCE

This event is designed for:

• Biomedical Researchers with interest and/or first experience in working with industry
• Scientific Infrastructures, platforms and research centres (e.g. target providers, biobanks, libraries of compounds) that participate in early drug development and want to understand the commercialisation and partnering landscape
• Entrepreneurs and researchers aiming to develop a business activity (e.g. start-up, spin-off, licence, co-development)
• Corporates that want to learn about challenges and ideas in academia
• Research Institutes linked to hospitals providing or requiring scientific underpinning for new drug Discovery

REGISTRATION

Registration is free of charge and open from 2 April to 1 June 2024. The room has limited capacity so make sure to register early – first come first serve!
iNext-Discovery members can benefit from a travel grant to cover their transportation and accommodation fees.

PRELIMINARY AGENDA

13 June 2024

12:30 – 14:00 Welcome Lunch
14:00 – 14:30 Introduction
14:30 – 16:00 Setting the drug discovery scene

• Keynote 1: The Drug Discovery process and current issues around early stage development planning and commercialisation
• Keynote 2: The structural biology golden era: trends and opportunities in pharma

16:00 – 16:30 Coffee break
16:30 – 17:15 Pitch session: examples of companies/groups developing new drugs from a Catalan point of view (4-6 invited companies or academic groups)
17:15 – 18:00 Roundtable
18:00 Finger food
End of day 1

14 June 2024 

09:00 – 09:30 Welcome coffee
09:30 – 10:00 Keynote: Understanding translation – Anna Sanchez, EATRIS
10:00 – 10:45 Roundtable/Debate: minding the gap academia-industry in drug discovery
10:45 – 11:45 Coffee Break and “team dating”
11:45 – 12:15 Pitch session “Minding the gap from academia to industry” : spin-offs from academia, participants pitches (4-6 pitches)
12:15 – 13:45 Parallel views

• Keynote 1: From structure to drug, a success case
• Keynote 2: Minding the gap in academia-industry collaboration: deal makers and deal breakers – Tamara Carapina, EATRIS

13.45 Lunch and End of day 2

>> Register here <<

ORGANISERS

 iNext-Discovery aims to enable access to structural biology research infrastructures for all European researchers, and especially also for non-experts in structural biology. For that reason, it brings together a diversity of large research facilities and other groups in a single consortium. Funded by the European Commission Horizon-2020 framework program from February 2020 for 4.5 years and coming to an end in July 2024, iNEXT-Discovery is built on three pillars:

• Allowing trans-national access for external researchers, following rapid peer-review on scientific excellence and translational research potential.
• Performing networking and training activities, such as practical courses and workshops, to enlarge and strengthen the structural biology community.
• Undertaking joint research activities, to increase the quality and quantity of the access offered by our facilities.

All researchers from academic and industry were encouraged to use our high-end structural biology facilities in Europe, to perform the translational research relevant for the sectors of health (e.g. drug discovery, target validation), biotechnology (e.g. new enzymes), biomaterials, and food science.

EATRIS is the European infrastructure for translational medicine. We bring together resources and services for research communities to translate scientific discoveries into benefits for patients.

We are a non-profit organisation that provides access to a vast array of expertise and facilities from over 150 top-tier academic centres across Europe. We focus on improving and optimising preclinical and early clinical development of drugs, vaccines and diagnostics, and overcome barriers to health innovation.

Our research infrastructure offers a broad range of research services for both academia and industry across various research fields. In addition, we work with public funding agencies, charities and policy makers with tailored actions to help improve the translational research and innovation ecosystem.

Biocat is a strategic stakeholder and catalyst for promoting, transforming and projecting the Catalan life sciences and health innovation ecosystem, known as the BioRegion of Catalonia. It was established in 2006 as a public-private foundation at the behest of the Government of Catalonia and the Barcelona City Council to identify the needs of the BioRegion and implement a strategy and action plan to maximize the economic and social impact of the sector.

Biocat identifies the key challenges and needs of the ecosystem such as innovation adoption, technology transfer, talent development, investment attraction, international positioning,  develops initiatives and supports programs to have an economic and social impact.