The second Drug Discovery Re-Invented Meeting focused on both the science and structure of drug discovery today with an emphasis on how it is being accomplished outside the traditional large pharmaceutical company model.   The meeting brought together experts in medicinal chemistry, structure based drug design, computational chemistry, novel technology platforms, and natural products discovery.

The meeting was chaired by Charles Reynolds (President, Gfree Bio LLC), William Kinney (Director, Natural Products Discovery Institute, IteraMed Consulting LLC), Patrick Lam (Drexel University College of Medicine, Former BMS Chemistry Director), and Lutz Mueller-Kuhrt (CEO, AnalytiCon Discovery).

Day 1 was kicked off with the Keynote Address, delivered by Harren Jhoti (Astex Pharmacueticals) “FRAGMENT-BASED DRUG DISCOVERY: A FIFTEEN YEAR (RE-)EVOLUTION.”  Plenary speakers  included John Beutler (National Cancer Institute-NIH), Sir Tom Blundel (University of Cambridge), Andrew Combs (Incyte Pharmaceuticals), Gerhard Klebe (Universität Marburg), and Martin Stahl (Roche Innovation Center).  Our first session in “New Approaches in Pharma” was concluded with George Trainor (BioMotiv) and Trevor Howe (External Innovation Johnson & Johnson).

Day 2, The AM session on “Natural Products” included presentations by David Mead (Lucigen), Lars Haustedt (AnalytiCon Discovery), Andreas Vilcinkas (Univeristy of Gießen), Thomas Högberg (Leo Pharma), Vicky Steadman (Selcia).  The power of metagenomics and novel culturing methods to pull out new structural diversity from “unculturable microorganisms” gives hope for a new generation of natural products discovery.  However, hypothesis driven natural product discovery continues to bear fruit by searching for microbes that give their host a competitive advantage in the environment.  The PM session on “Government and Non-profit Sector” featured Christopher Cooper (TB Alliance), James Duffy (Medicines for Malaria), Craig Thomas (NCATS, NIH), Joseph Salvino (Drexel University College of Medicine), Barbara Holtz (Collaborative Drug Discovery), and Ed Champness (Optibrium).  Then Chuck Reynolds led a lively round table discussion on the state of drug discovery today and included thoughts from Martin Stahl, George Trainor, Vicky Steadman, and Trevor Howe.  Much of the innovation in drug discovery is taking place outside of Big Pharma with displaced experienced pharmaceutically trained scientists who are finding creative ways to finance and execute their drug discovery strategies. Discussion included concern for where the scientists will be trained since Pharma is no longer hiring.  Much of the experience now resides in Biotechs and CROs and it will be up to them to train the next generation.  

On Day 3, the “Structure, Modeling, and Fragment-Based Design” session speakers were Gregory Warren (OpenEye Scientific Software), Heather Carlson (University of Michigan), Chris Murray (Astex Pharmaceuticals), and Martin Slater (Cresset).  This session was followed by a group trip to Windsor Castle in which we rode a traditional London double decker bus.  We were expertly led by a knowledgeable tour guide who had interesting stories about the queen, dead kings, and the castle, including hangings and dungeons. The day was concluded with our first “Non-Traditional Targets and Approaches” session with lectures by Siew Ho (Drexel College of Medicine), Troy Messick (Vironika, LLC), and Jan Hoflack (Oncodesign SA).   Oncodesign was able to obtain exquisite selectivity and drug likeness with their macrocyclic kinase inhibitors, which has led to multiple partnerships and significant growth.  A thorough analysis of the state of the art in nucleic acid molecules was presented with a focus on both research and therapeutics.  An example of an academic collaboration with a strong Pharma trained medicinal group has led to substantial funding from the Welcome Trust for support of development of small molecule inhibitors of Epstein Barr Virus-associated disease. 

Day 4, “Non-Traditional Targets and Approaches” continued with presentations by Luc Van Hijfte (NovAlix), James Bashkin (U. Missouri - St. Louis, NanoVir), Jin Li (HitGen), Kevin Cox (Imanova), and Bill Kinney (KannaLife Sciences).  A novel screening platform using mass spec, natural product based DNA binders, a vast macrocyclic library of more than a billion compounds, repurposing of a large pharma imaging capability, and improved cannabinoid like molecules as neuroprotectants were all covered in this final session.

The meeting was extremely interactive with enthusiastic question and answer sessions following each talk (so much so it was hard to stay on time).  The panel discussion on the second day was particularly lively.  This meeting remains unique with respect to the breadth of participants and focus on new approaches to discovering drugs.

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The meeting was expertly organized and supported by Fusion Conferences, Ltd. The meeting was generously sponsored by our Hitgen, Otibrium and CDD.

The second Drug Discovery Re-Invented Fusion series will center on new approaches to drug discovery in an industry where the landscape is changing rapidly. With large pharma reducing investment in internal early stage research, drug pipelines will increasingly be filled by alternative sources. These players include: government, academic labs, non-profits, biotech companies, and pharmaceutical “open innovation” models. The conference will also provide examples of successful strategies for advancing new drug candidates in this era of distributed discovery.

Sessions

• New Approaches in Biotech and Academia
• New Approaches in Pharma
• Natural Products
• Government and Non-profit Sector in Drug Discovery and Development
• Structure, Modeling, and Fragment-based Design
• Non-traditional targets and approaches
• Industry Exhibit

Confirmed Speakers

Prof. James K. Bashkin (University of Missouri- St. Louis)
LARGE HAIRPIN POLYAMIDES WITH NEW N-TERMINI: DNA BINDING PROPERTIES AND ACTIVITY AGAINST HIGH-RISK HPVS 

Dr. John Beutler (National Cancer Institute-NIH)
PROBING NOVEL CANCER BIOLOGY WITH HIGH THROUGHPUT SCREENING OF NATURAL PRODUCTS

Prof. Sir Tom Blundell (University of Cambridge)
STRUCTURE-GUIDED TARGETING OF PROTEIN-PROTEIN INTERFACES IN CELL REGULATORY SYSTEMS

Prof. Heather A. Carlson (University of Michigan)
MIXMD: MAPPING PROTEIN SURFACES TO DISCOVER DRUGGABLE ALLOSTERIC SITES

Edmund Champness (Optibrium)
DATA VISUALIZATION: NEW DIRECTIONS OR JUST FAMILIAR ROUTES? 

Dr. Andrew Combs (Incyte Pharmaceuticals)
INCYTE’S DATA CENTRIC APPROACH TO RESEARCH 

Dr. Christopher Cooper (TB Alliance)
TB ALLIANCE DRUG DISCOVERY: HARNESSING GLOBAL RESOURCES TO ADDRESS A GLOBAL DISEASE

Dr. Kevin Cox (Imanova)
REDUCING RISK IN DRUG DEVELOPMENT – THE 3 I’S OF MOLECULAR IMAGING

Dr. James Duffy (Medicines for Malaria Venture)
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN ANTIMALARIAL DRUG DISCOVERY 

Dr. Lars Haustedt (AnalytiCon Discovery)
NATURAL PRODUCTS AS LIBRARY BLUE PRINTS - STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION 

Dr. Siew Ho (Formerly BMS)
NUCLEIC ACID MOLECULES IN RESEARCH AND THERAPEUTICS

Dr. Jan Hoflack (Oncodesign SA)
NANOCYCLIX PROBE-BASED DRUG DISCOVERY: NEXT GENERATION KINASE INHIBITORS OPENING UP THE UNEXPLORED KINOME

Dr. Thomas Högberg (LEO Pharma A/S)
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL STUDIES OF INGENOL 3-CARBOXYLATES FOR TREATMENT OF NON-MELANOMA SKIN NEOPLASIA

Dr. Barbara Holtz (Collaborative Drug Discovery)
AMPLIFYING THE ROLE OF COLLABORATION GLOBALLY FOR NEGLECTED AND COMMERCIAL DISEASE DRUG DISCOVERY 

Dr. Trevor Howe (Janssen Research & Development)
INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION INITIATIVES IN J&J

Dr. Harren Jhoti (Astex Pharmacueticals)
FRAGMENT-BASED DRUG DISCOVERY: A FIFTEEN YEAR (RE-)EVOLUTION

Dr. Bill Kinney (KannaLife Sciences)
THE ARCHITECTURE AND SCIENCE OF VIRTUAL DRUG DISCOVERY IN THE CANNABINOID SPACE

Dr. Gerhard Klebe (Philipps-University Marburg)
FRAGMENT DISCOVERY AND CHARACTERIZATION: WHAT CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, THERMODYNAMICS AND WATER SUGGEST

Dr. Jin Li (HitGen) 
ENCODED MACROCYCLIC LIBRARIES FOR FINDING NOVEL PROTEIN-PROTEIN INTERACTION INHIBITORS 

Dr. David Mead (Lucigen Corporation)
FUNCTIONAL METAGENOMICS FOR CLONING AND EXPRESSION OF NOVEL SOIL MICROBIAL SECONDARY METABOLITE PATHWAYS

Dr. Troy Messick (The Wistar Institute)
DRUG DISCOVERY AT THE ACADEMIC/START-UP BIOTECH INTERFACE: DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL MOLECULE INHIBITORS OF EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS-ASSOCIATED DISEASES

Dr. Ann Mills-Duggan (The Wellcome Trust)
WELLCOME TRUST SEEDING DRUG DISCOVERY – TEN YEARS OF SUPPORTING NEW DRUG DEVELOPMENT

Dr. Chris Murray (Astex Pharmacueticals)
EXPLOITING STRUCTURAL DATA TO ACCELERATE FRAGMENT-BASED DRUG DISCOVERY

Prof. Joseph Salvino (Drexel University College of Medicine)
CX3CR1 CHEMOKINE ANTAGONISTS HALT METASTATIC SPREADING IN ANIMAL MODELS OF METASTASIS 

Dr. Martin Slater (Cresset)
IN SILICO DRUG DISCOVERY OUTSIDE THE TRADITIONAL BIG PHARMA MODEL

Dr. Martin Stahl (Roche Pharmaceuticals)
HOW MANY MOLECULES DOES IT TAKE TO TELL A STORY? CASE STUDIES, LANGUAGE AND AN EPISTEMIC VIEW OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY

Dr. Vicky Steadman (Selcia)
A ‘GAME CHANGING’ NEW ANTIBIOTIC: THE DISCOVERY OF TEIXOBACTIN

Dr. Craig Thomas (National Center of Advancing Clinical and Therapeutic Sciences)
CHEMICAL BIOLOGY AS A TRANSLATIONAL ENDEAVOR

Dr. George Trainor (BioMotiv)
THE HARRINGTON PROJECT:  TRAVERSING THE VALLEY OF DEATH

Dr. Roger Tung (Concert Pharmaceuticals)
SELECTIVE DEUTERIUM SUBSTITUTION: A BROAD AND EFFICIENT PLATFORM FOR NEW DRUG CREATION

Dr. Luc Van Hijfte (NovAliX)
NON-COVALENT MASS SPECTROMETRY : AN "ESI" WAY TO SUPPORT DRUG DISCOVERY

Prof. Andreas Vilcinskas (Univeristy of Gießen)
INSECTS AS A SOURCE OF NOVEL ANTIBIOTICS

Dr. Gregory Warren (OpenEye Scientific Software, Inc)
UNDERSTANDING THE ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESS IN STRUCTURE-BASED DESIGN 

Chair Biographies

Dr. William A. Kinney's Bio
Dr. Kinney began his industrial career in the CNS group at Wyeth, where he invented the cyclobutenedione-containing NMDA antagonist perzinfotel that progressed to phase II clinical trials for pain.  At Magainin Pharmaceuticals, he directed projects on trodusquemine (phase II, obesity) and squalamine (phase II, eye disease), two shark-derived natural products.  In 2000, he joined Johnson & Johnson, where he pursued peptide-mimetic integrin antagonists and urotensin-II receptor modulators for cardiovascular indications.  He also made seminal discoveries with respect to self-assembling collagen-mimetic peptides that stimulate platelet aggregation.  Currently, Dr. Kinney is Director of Medicinal Chemistry at the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute (BSBI).  He directed the transfer and utilization of the former Merck Research Laboratories Natural Product Collection at the BSBI. He also initiated a structure based drug design project on a new anti-viral target in collaboration with Prof. Peter Katsikis at Drexel University to develop PI3K p110d kinase inhibitors that block host cell signaling pathways required for influenza infection and pathogenesis.  He is an adjunct faculty member at Drexel University and Founder of IteraMed, a company focused on medicinal chemistry consulting and drug discovery. IteraMed discovery efforts are focused on developing a dietary supplement for the obesity/diabetes market.  His scientific contributions include 70 publications, invited lectures, and oral presentations and inventorship on 39 issued U.S. patents. 

Dr. Charles H. Reynolds' Bio
Dr. Reynolds is currently CSO of Small Molecule PPI Mimics and President/Founder of GFree, Bio.  He is an expert in the areas of computational chemistry, structure-based design, and drug discovery with a broad range of experience.  Dr. Reynolds is also a Director on the Advisory Board of Quantum Bio and an adjunct professor at the Pennsylvania Drug Discovery Institute.  Previously he was Senior Director and Head of Discovery Technologies at Ansaris.  Prior to joining Ansaris, he led modeling groups at the Springhouse, PA and La Jolla, CA research sites of Johnson & Johnson and was a Research Fellow at Rohm and Haas (now Dow).  He is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, sits on the ACS publications committee, and is a member of the EAB for ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 

Dr. Reynolds earned a BA, with honors, from Austin College and PhD from the University of Texas at Austin.  He was an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania and has supervised joint graduate and postdoctoral students at the Pennsylvania State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has published approximately 100 papers, patents, and book chapters, and is a co-editor of two books.  His comments on drug discovery have been sought by news organizations ranging from C&E News to the Wall Street Journal.