Meeting to take place April 15-19, 2007 in Montreal, Canada. Guest Speakers and Topics include:

Eugene Butcher, M.D., professor of pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif., will address how the biology of human cell systems further innovation and drug discovery. The focus of recent pharmaceutical discovery on drug targets instead of drug biology has led to a decline in innovation and in the success rate of investigational drugs. Dr. Butcher describes a broadly applicable approach to evaluating lead compounds and drugs, using panels of human disease models in which primary human cells of multiple types are cultured in complex conditions to mimic disease biology. The effects of a drug in these models provide a unique and clinically informative measure of its usefulness and effectiveness. Dr. Butcher says this process can reduce costs and increase rates at which new drugs are discovered.

Larry Gold, Ph.D., chief executive officer, SomaLogic, Inc., Boulder, Colo., will address ways in which molecular diagnostics can improve health and lower health care costs. Molecular diagnostics, an evolving scientific field, involves the investigation of genes and their protein levels. Through molecular diagnostics, scientists hope to more accurately diagnose certain health conditions and diseases by assessing a genes protein level in patients. Dr. Gold will discuss how this field can reduce overall health care costs by enabling physicians to diagnose diseases or potential health conditions early on, rather than when the patient requires more intensive treatment.

Mel Reichman, Ph.D., Lankenau Institute for Medical Research in Wynnewood, Penn., and Christopher Lipinski, Ph.D., Melior Discovery Waterford, Conn., will debate the benefits and drawbacks recently established National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical Research in the 21st Century. Comprised of 10 academic institutions, the NIH Roadmap was created to
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Contact: Ivette Morello
imorello@environics-usa.com
203-325-8772 x24
Society for Biomolecular Sciences
21-Mar-2007