N8 Research Partnership’s director Peter Simpson has hailed this year’s ELRIG Drug Discovery conference a huge success and is convinced that the two-day ‘hot house’ of more than 800 delegates will lead to further drug discovery and innovation and improved collaboration.
ELRIG Drug Discovery 2015 (DD ’15) brought together more than 50 world-class speakers from academia and industry at Telford International Conference to discuss recent advances in basic and translational aspects of drug discovery. This year, the conference’s 9th, new scientific sessions were introduced covering gene therapy, and biotherapeutics and their applications.
Dr Simpson, who co-chaired ELRIG DD ‘15, said: “The conference highlighted the latest scientific breakthroughs, explored innovative technologies and approaches that can be used to overcome drug development challenges and brought together industry leaders to compare notes and to help shape the future.
“We were delighted to hear such high quality science, from leading thinkers and innovators as they challenge and disrupt previous thinking. As Director of N8, the collaboration-focused research partnership for Northern England, I’m absolutely convinced that bringing the whole community of academia, SMEs and major Pharma together truly fosters innovation and collaboration. Great advancement will come from quality research insights, informal discussions, and our Forum-style debates, to the benefit the drug discovery and life science communities.
“This conference is also about science and industry coming together to ensure closer future innovative ways of working, and on therapeutic progress that is globally beneficial. With more than 80 companies participating, more than 150 posters, active discussion groups on key industry topics, the event goes from strength to strength.”
At this year’s conference there were keynote addresses from Dr David Thomas, CEO of Traffick Therapeutiques Inc of Montreal, Canada which specialises in the development of therapies for protein trafficking diseases and from Professor Tracy Hussell, director of the Manchester Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research – the Centre being a great example of collaboration involving University of Manchester, GSK, and AstraZeneca.
N8 and ELRIG will work together again later this year, to deliver Mass Spectrometry: Advances for Drug Discovery. This new event in York on 11th November 2015 will cover how mass spectrometry is impacting in clinical and pre-clinical settings. Mass Spectrometry is an analytical technique with great academic strength across the N8 region; distinguished speakers will include Prof Jane Thomas-Oates, of York University.
For further information or to register for Mass Spectrometry: Advances in Drug Discovery, click here