7th NovAliX Conference

The 7th NovAliX Conference – Biophysics in Drug Discovery will take place in Kyoto, Japan on November 13-15, 2019.

The use of biophysical methods in drug discovery is rapidly increasing and the field is in constant evolution, as documented in our review: "Biophysics in drug discovery: impact, challenges and opportunities" Renaud J.P., Chung C.W., Danielson U.H., Egner U., Hennig M., Hubbard R.E. & Nar H. (2016) Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 15: 679–698. Many pharmaceutical companies have set up in-house biophysical platforms to speed up the target-to-candidate process and improve the quality of small-molecule therapeutics through a better understanding of their interactions with their targets. Academic labs involved in early-stage drug discovery also heavily rely on biophysical techniques.

The Scientific Programme will cover current hot topics including cryo-EM, a rapidly evolving field distinguished by the 2017 Chemistry Nobel Prize, and its use in drug discovery – see our recent review : "Cryo EM in drug discovery: achievements, limitations and prospects" Renaud J.P., Chari A., Ciferri C., Liu W.T., Rémigy H.W., Stark H. & Wiesmann C. (2018) Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 17: 471–492. The other sessions will soon be defined by the Scientific Committee and will include recent technological developments and hot therapeutic targets.

The seventh edition of the conference intends again to bring together biophysicists and medicinal chemists, the synergy between their disciplines being key to deliver better drugs on a shorter timeline. This synergy will be crucial to optimally exploit the wealth of new modalities and potential new therapeutic targets in order to address more unmet medical needs, as illustrated by the spectacular development of PROTAC™s that target previously undruggable proteins.