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3rd Drug Discovery Re-Invented Conference
Emerging Role of Biotechs, Academics and Non-Profits
21 Feb - 24 Feb 2017
Cancun, Mexico
Early Bird - Expired • Talk Submission - Expired • Poster Submission - Expired • Registration & Payment Deadline - Expired
Report
The third Drug Discovery Re-Invented Meeting focused on the science, structure, and business 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, biology, structure-based drug design, computational chemistry, novel technology platforms, and natural products discovery.
The meeting was chaired by William Kinney (President, IteraMed Consulting LLC), Charles Reynolds (President, Gfree Bio LLC), Cedric Pearce (CEO/CSO, Mycosynthetix), and Christopher Cooper (Senior Director of Chemistry, TB Alliance).
Day 1 started with a Keynote Address, delivered by Ted Torphy (CSO, BioMotiv). This very informative analysis of the changing drug discovery landscape was titled “In Theory, the Model is Brilliant – Learnings from the Harrington Project, a New Disruptive Model of R&D.” Ted’s talk set the tone for the meeting. Day 1 continued with the “New Approaches in Biotech, Pharma, and Academia” session with talks from Guy Breitenbucher (Dart NeuroScience), Bob Wenslow (Crystal Pharmatech), Kevin Madauss (GlaxoSmithKline), Jose Fenandez (Signum Biosciences), Garry Smith (Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center), and Stephen Martin (University of Texas at Austin). Important topics for discussion included fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitors; the importance of defining crystalline forms in early development; an alternative discovery and development model in Latin America; developing novel technologies spanning opportunities in dermatology and neurology; development of small molecules to treat Epstein-Barr virus associated diseases; and applications of chemistry to unmet needs in neuroscience.
Day 2, the international AM session on “Natural Products” was chaired by Cedric Pearce who emphasized the medical and commercial impact of natural products such as Taxol and the Statins. The session included presentations by Nicholas Oberlies (University of North Carolina at Greensboro), Roberto Berlinck (Instituto de Quimica de São Carlos), Jose Medina-Franco (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), Guy Carter (Carter-Berman Consulting), Mark Hamann (Medical University of South Carolina), Ronald Quinn (Griffith University) and Andreas Vilcinkas (Univeristy of Gießen). Highlights included the delivery of hydrophobic natural products by pH release from nanoparticles; progress on leishmaniasis and chagas disease in Brazil; methods of defining diversity in natural products; fungal metabolites; algae derived natural products; fragment based discovery using natural products; and gram negative antibiotics from insects. The PM session on “Non-profit Drug Discovery” was chaired by Christopher Cooper and featured Peter Warner (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), Leah Frye (Schrödinger), Jeremy Burrows (MMV), Manu De Rycker (University of Dundee), Barry Bunin (Collaborative Drug Discovery), and Christopher Cooper (TB Alliance). The non-profit session was focused on the diseases of the developing world including malaria, river blindness, tuberculosis, and new structure-based methods using water mapping and FEP.
On Day 3, the “Structure, Modeling, and Fragment-Based Design” session started with one of the pioneers in fragment-based design, Dagmar Ringe (Brandeis). Her talk was followed by Bill Jorgensen (Yale), John Kulp (Connifer Point), Chuck Reynolds (Gfree Bio), Matt Segall (Optibrium), and Sandor Vajda (Boston University). Highlights included research in Alzheimers disease targeting Vacuolar Protein Sorting Gene that controls trafficking of proteins to the lysosome; in cancer by modulation of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor; in a user friendly, affordable and powerful web-based fragment based drug design platform; in the importance of ligand efficiency factoring in the size of the target protein; a powerful database analysis tool; in web-based informatics innovations; and in hot spot analysis for druggability and fragment binding. This session was followed by a group snorkeling trip through a well preserved coral marine park.
The day continued with a session on “New Tools and Technologies” that featured lectures by lead snorkeler Rachel Garlish (UCB), Andrea Reid (Dechert LLP), and Janet Ralbovsky (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute). Important topics included native and hydrogen deuterium MS techniques for evaluating interactions of small molecules with their target proteins; recent developments in court cases on “obviousness” when determining the patentability of new discoveries; and the interface between drug discovery and commercialization at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. This session was followed by the poster session and a very popular breakout discussion with acclaimed patent attorney Andrea Reid.
Day 4, “Non-Traditional Targets and Approaches” continued with presentations by Scott Dax (BioMotiv), Barte DeCorte (Kodib), and one of the student travel award winners, Chao Wang (Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery). Presentations included a peroxynitrite quenching molecule for the treatment of inflammatory pain that also helps with opiate tolerance and is opiate sparing; and the power of novel chemical space derived from natural products combined with diverse phenotypic model systems.
The meeting was extremely interactive with enthusiastic question and answer sessions following each talk (so much so it was hard to stay on time). This meeting remains unique with respect to the breadth of participants and focus on new approaches to discovering drugs.
Synopsis
The third 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.
Key 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
Chair Biographies
Dr. William A. Kinney's Bio
Dr. Kinney began his industrial career in the CNS group at Wyeth, where he invented the unique NMDA antagonist perzinfotel that progressed to phase II clinical trials for pain. At Magainin Pharmaceuticals, he was an inventor of trodusquemine (phase II, obesity) and squalamine (phase II, eye disease), two shark-derived natural products; and led their development from a CMC perspective. 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 a faculty member within the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute (BSBI) and directs the Natural Product Discovery Institute (NPDI) that houses the former Merck Research Laboratories Natural Product Collection. He is an adjunct faculty member at Drexel University and Founder of IteraMed, a company focused on medicinal chemistry, drug discovery, and small business development. Dr. Kinney co-founded Revive Genomics INC, which will map out the genomic potential of the actinomycete collections. Revive Genomics was established to apply new genomic technologies to discover novel natural products of use in pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. Dr. Kinney’s 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 Founder of GFree, Bio (www.gfreebio.com), a structure-based design and modeling company. 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 (Locus). 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 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.
Session Chairs
Non-Profit Research: Dr. Christopher Cooper
Dr. Cooper received his BS (magna cum laude) in Chemistry from Clemson University in 1980, and his MS in Organic Chemistry at Stanford University with Professor Carl Djerassi in 1982. Following a two-year industry sabbatical at CIBA-Geigy Pharmaceuticals (now Novartis), he returned to Stanford in 1984 to earn his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry with Professor Paul A. Wender. From 1988 through 1998, Dr. Cooper was engaged in medicinal chemistry research at Pfizer, Inc., at both their Groton, Connecticut, and Sandwich, England, laboratories. In 1998, Dr. Cooper accepted a position with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Inc., in Princeton, New Jersey, to launch the Lead Synthesis Group (Early Discovery Chemistry), and to oversee the design, development, and synthesis of novel, drug-like medicinal chemistry arrays. Dr. Cooper joined the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) in January, 2009, and is currently serving as Senior Director, Chemistry. His responsibilities include direction of all lead identification, lead optimization, pre-clinical and clinical candidate chemistry efforts across TB Alliance’s drug discovery portfolio. Dr. Cooper has over 60 publications, presentations, and patents, and he currently serves on the scientific advisory boards for Anacor Pharmaceuticals/Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Eli Lilly TB Drug Discovery Initiative, Weill Cornell Medical Center TB Research Unit, and the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery [New Zealand].
Natural Products: Dr. Cedric Pearce
Cedric Pearce obtained B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Southampton, UK. His current major interest is new drug discovery and development, and entrepreneurship in the life sciences. Following post-doctoral appointments in France (Royal Society European Exchange Fellow at C.N.R.S.) and the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign (School of Chemical Sciences), he was a faculty member in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy at the University of Connecticut. In the 1990s he joined American Cyanamid’s medical and agricultural natural products discovery program and since that time has worked in the biotechnology industry, both as a scientist and from the investment perspective. In 2001 he founded Mycosynthetix Inc. a fungus metabolites research company. Mycosynthetix has been involved with the discovery and development of biologically-active fungal metabolites for a variety of applications, and currently has projects in the fields of agriculture (including the development of the herbicide, mevalocidin), cancer, and infectious diseases (including a project to find new medicines for the free-living parasitic amoebae Naegleria fowleri, funded by NIAID). He has (co)authored >200 publications, patents, chapters and conference abstracts, with approximately half addressing biologically-active fungal products and half addressing bacterial products, largely antibiotics . He is an editor for the Journal of Natural Products and MYCOSCIENCE. He is currently Vice President (and, in 2017, President) of the American Society of Pharmacognosy, a leading natural products research society.
Confirmed Speakers
Roberto Berlinck (Instituto de Química de São Carlos)
Guy Breitenbucher (Dart NeuroScience)
Barry Bunin (Collaborative Drug Discovery)
Jeremy Burrows (MMV)
Guy Carter (Carter-Bernan Consulting)
Christopher Cooper (TB Alliance)
Scott Dax (BioMotiv)
Bart Decorte (Kodib)
Manu De Rycker (University of Dundee)
Jose Fernandez (Signum Biosciences )
Leah Frye (Schrödinger)
Rachel Garlish (UCB)
Mark Hamann (Medical University of South Carolina)
William Jorgensen (Yale University)
John Kulp (Blumberg Institute)
Kevin Madauss (GSK)
Stephen Martin (University of Texas at Austin)
Jose Medina (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico)
Nicholas Oberlies (The University of North Carolina at Greensboro)
Cedric Pearce (Mycosynthetix)
Ronald Quinn (Griffith University)
Janet Ralbovsky (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute)
Andrea L.C. Reid (Dechert LLP)
Dagmar Ringe (Brandeis University)
Matthew Segall (Optibrium)
Garry Smith (Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center)
Ted Torphy (Biomotiv)
Sandor Vajda (Boston University)
Peter Warner (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)
Bob Wenslow (Crystal Pharmatech)
Confirmed Speakers
Chairs
Invited Speakers
Stephen Martin
Professor, The University of Texas
Theodore Torphy
Chief Science Officer, BioMotiv LLC
Roberto G. S. Berlinck
Full Professor, Universidade de São Paulo
Robert Wenslow
VP Business Development, Crystal Pharmatech, INC
William Jorgensen
Sterling Professor, Yale University
Andrea Reid
Partner, Patent Counseling and Prosecution, Dechert LLP
Leah Frye
Vice President, Schrodinger
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Scott Dax
Project Director, BioMotiv
Janet Ralbovsky
Sr. Licensing Associate, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Guy Carter
Chief Scientific Officer, Biosortia Pharmaceuticals
Matthew Segall
CEO, Optibrium Ltd
Kevin Madauss
Programme Manager: Trust in Science, GlaxoSmithKline
Jose Medina-Franco
Professor, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
Peter Warner
Senior Prorgam Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Ronald Quinn
Professor, Griffith University
Barry Bunin
CEO, Collaborative Drug Discovery
Mark Hamann
Professor of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, MUSC
Dagmar Ringe
professor, Brandeis Univiversity
Manu De Rycker
Portfolio Leader Kinetoplastids, University of Dundee
John Kulp
CEO, Conifer Point
Rachel Garlish
Senior Principle Scientist, UCB
Jeremy Burrows
VP, Head of Drug Discovery, Medicines for Malaria Venture
James Breitenbucher
Director of Chemistry, Dart Neuroscience
Bart DeCorte
VP Business Development, Mercachem
Garry Smith
Director of Chemistry, Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center
Nicholas Oberlies
Professor , UNCG
Jose Fernandez
Director of R&D, Signum Dermalogix, Inc.
Programme
TUESDAY 21ST FEBRUARY 2017 |
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13:15 – 14:15 |
Registration & Reception |
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13:15 – 14:15 |
Welcome Lunch |
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14:15 – 14:30 |
Opening Comments |
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NEW APPROACHES IN BIOTECH AND ACADEMIA |
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14:30 – 15:15 |
Ted Torphy |
“IN THEORY, THE MODEL IS BRILLIANT” – LEARNINGS FROM THE HARRINGTON PROJECT, A NEW DISTRIBUTIVE MODEL OF R&D |
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15:15 – 15:45 |
Guy Breitenbucher |
REFLECTING ON FATTY ACID AMIDE HYDROLASE (FAAH): A LOOK BACK AT A SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC-INDUSTRIAL COLLABORATION IN DRUG DISCOVERY |
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15:45 – 16:15 |
Bob Wenslow |
DON’T OVERLOOK KEY PRECLINICAL RESEARCH IN EARLY PHARMACEUTICAL DEVELOPMENT |
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16:15 – 16:45 |
Refreshments |
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NEW APPROACHES IN BIOTECH AND ACADEMIA |
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16:45 – 17:15 |
Kevin Madauss |
GSK’s TRUST IN SCIENCE PROGRAM: AN ALTERNATIVE DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT MODEL IN LATIN AMERICA |
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17:15 – 17:45 |
Jose Fernandez |
FROM CONSUMER PRODUCTS TO DRUGS: DEVELOPING NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES IN DERMATOLOGY AND NEUROLOGY |
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17:45 – 18:15 |
Garry Smith |
DRUG DISCOVERY AT THE ACADEMIC/BIOTECH START-UP INTERFACE: DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL MOLECULES TO TREAT EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS-ASSOCIATED DISEASES, CONTINUED |
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18:15 – 18:45 |
Stephen Martin |
APPLICATIONS OF CHEMISTRY TO UNMET MEDICAL NEEDS IN NEUROSCIENCE |
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18:45 |
Dinner at Leisure & Free Time |
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WEDNESDAY 22ND FEBRUARY 2017 |
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07:00 – 08:15 |
Breakfast *Kalmia Buffet Restaurant* |
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NATURAL PRODUCTS SESSION |
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08:15 – 08:30 |
Cedric Pearce |
INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS |
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08:30 – 09:15 |
Nicholas Oberlies |
ANTICANCER DRUG LEADS FROM NATURAL SOURCES: STRATEGIES, PROGRESS, AND INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES |
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09:15 – 09:45 |
Roberto Berlinck |
DISCOVERY AND SAR INVESTIGATIONS OF ANTI-PARASITIC ALKALOIDS |
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09:45 – 10:15 |
Jose Medina |
CHEMINFORMATICS ANALYSIS OF THE CHEMICAL SPACE OF NATURAL PRODUCTS FOR DRUG DISCOVERY |
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10:15 – 10:45 |
Refreshments & Group Photo |
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10:45 – 11:15 |
Guy Carter |
LEVERAGING THE CHEMICAL DIVERSITY OF AQUATIC MICROBIOMES |
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11:15 – 11:45 |
Mark Hamann |
NUISANCE AND HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS: AN EMERGING SOURCE FOR DRUG DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT |
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11:45 –12:15 |
Ronald Quinn |
FRAGMENT-BASED DRUG DISCOVERY USING NATURAL PRODUCTS |
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12:15 –12:45 |
Andreas Vilcinskas |
THE SANOFI-FRAUNHOFER CENTER FOR NAURAL PRODUCT RESEARCH |
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12:45 – 16:15 |
Lunch at Leisure & Free Time |
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NON-PROFIT SECTOR IN DRUG DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT |
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16:15 – 16:45 |
Peter Warner |
DRUG DISCOVERY FOR NEGLECTED DISEASES: IMPORTANCE OF PARTNERSHIPS |
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16:45 – 17:15 |
Leah Frye |
STRUCTURE-BASED DRUG DISCOVERY IN THE NON-PROFIT SECTOR |
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17:15 – 17:45 |
Jeremy Burrows |
DRUG DISCOVERY TO CONTROL AND ERADICATE MALARIA |
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17:45 – 18:15 |
Refreshments |
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18:15 – 18:45 |
Manu De Rycker |
DISCOVERY AND LEAD-OPTIMISATION OF A PROMISING NEW ANTILEISHMANIAL COMPOUND SERIES WITHIN AN ACADEMIC-INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP |
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18:45 – 19:15 |
Barry Bunin |
PRESENT AND FUTURE COLLABORATIVE DRUG DISCOVERY INFORMATICS INNOVATIONS |
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19:15 – 19:45 |
Christopher B. Cooper |
ANTITUBERCULAR 3-(4-AMINOPHENYL)OXAZOLIDIN-2-ONES: PROGRESS TOWARDS BETTER, SAFER TB AGENTS |
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19:45 |
Dinner at Leisure & Free Time |
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THURSDAY 23RD FEBRUARY 2017 |
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07:00 – 08:30 |
Breakfast *Kalmia Buffet Restaurant* |
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STRUCTURE, MODELING, AND FRAGMENT-BASED DESIGN SESSION |
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08:30 – 09:00 |
Dagmar Ringe |
CHEMICAL CHAPERONES AS AN APPROACH TO TREAMENT OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE |
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09:00 – 09:30 |
Bill Jorgensen |
COMPUTER-AIDED DISCOVERY OF ENZYME INHIBITORS |
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09:30 – 10:00 |
John Kulp |
AN OPEN WEB SERVICE FOR FRAGMENT-BASED DESIGN OF SMALL MOLECULES |
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10:00 – 10:30 |
Refreshments |
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10:30 – 11:00 |
Chuck Reynolds |
RETHINKING LIGAND EFFICIENCY |
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11:00 – 11:30 |
Matt Segall |
SEAMLESS INTEGRATION OF 3D STRUCTURE-BASED DESIGN AND 2D STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIPS TO GUIDE MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY |
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11:30 – 12:00 |
Sandor Vajda |
HOT SPOT ANALYSIS FOR DRUGGABILITY AND FRAGMENT BINDING |
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12:00 – 16:00 |
Lunch at Leisure & Free Time |
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DRUG DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES Session Chair: Bill Kinney, IteraMed Consulting |
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16:00 – 16:30 |
Rachel Garlish |
NATIVE AND HYDROGEN DEUTERIUM MASS SPECTROMETRY IN DRUG DISCOVERY |
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16:30 – 17:00 |
Andrea L.C. Reid |
FOUNDATIONS OF PATENT LAW: OBVIOUSNESS |
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17:00 – 17:30 |
Janet Ralbovsky |
DRUG DISCOVERY AND COMMERCIALIZATION AT THE DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE |
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17:30 – 17:50 |
Martina Sutovska |
ECHINACEA PURPUREA - A SOURCE OF GLYCOCONJUGATE WITH BRONCHODILATING AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS |
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17:50 – 19:00 |
Poster Session & Refreshments |
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17:50 – 19:00 |
Andrea Reid (Dechert LLP) IP Breakout Session |
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19:30 |
*Gala Dinner & Poster Awards* |
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FRIDAY 24TH FEBRUARY 2017 |
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07:00 – 08:30 |
Breakfast *Kalmia Buffet Restaurant* |
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NON-TRADITIONAL TARGETS AND APPROACHES |
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08:30 – 09:00 |
Scott Dax |
PHENOTYPIC SCREENING AND ANTI-OXIDANT ASSAYS LEADING TO THE DISCOVERY OF A NOVEL CLASS OF ANALGESICS |
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09:00 – 09:30 |
Bart DeCorte |
NATURAL-PRODUCT DERIVED NOVEL CHEMICAL SPACE – A POWERFUL STARTING POINT IN DRUG DISCOVERY |
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STUDENT PRESENTATIONS |
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09:30 – 09:50 |
Chao Wang |
MEET THE CHALLENGE: PROBING PARKINSON’S DISEASE BIOLOGY BY INTEGRATED MULTIDISCIPLINARY METHODOLOGY
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09:50 – 10:10 |
Xioayan Chen |
EXPLORATION OF DRUG LEADS FROM THE HUMAN MICROBIOME: AKKERMANSIA MUCINIPHILA |
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10:10 – 10:25 |
Closing Comments |
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Contact usVenue & Location
Fiesta Americana Condesa
This stylish hotel features contemporary Mexican architecture, including one of the largest and most impressive thatched-roof "palapas" in the entire country. There are cultural activities, arts and crafts and sports programs to keep you constantly entertained, plus time to relax and enjoy the Mayan culture, soak up the Caribbean sunshine and revel in the international ambiance that settles in after the sun goes down.
Throughout your stay delegates will enjoy a full meal plan, inclusive of beverages. Take your pick from the aromatic Asian delights at Kaumbu, traditional fare at El Mexicano, delicious international cuisine at Kalmia Buffet or perhaps sample the sumptuous Italian dishes at Rosato. There are also several other dining opportunities such as the Cevichería, Pizzeria, Sushi Corner, pool and lounge bar areas. The Gala Night with either a Mayan or Caribbean theme takes place on the third evening of the conference with a mouth-watering feast of local cuisine, an open bar and amazing local entertainment. We welcome all delegates and their accompanying persons to the Gala Night – a truly fun filled night not to be missed!
Hotel Facilities
- Lagoon Pool
- Extensive Health Club and Spa
- Complimentary Wi-Fi in guest rooms and throughout hotel and conference areas
The Fiesta Americana Condesa, Cancun is the 2015 Winner of the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence and also received the Travellers Choice Award in 2014.
The remains of ancient Mayan cities are scattered throughout the Yucatan Peninsula and no trip to Cancun would be complete without a visit to these majestic temples and pyramids set amongst lush tropical vegetation. We will be working very closely with a reputable tour company who will be organising trips to Tulum, Chichen Itza, Coba and Xcaret to name a few, some of which may require a full day. Full day excursions will be arranged pre or post conference and may be on an individual or group booking so we would recommend booking extra nights to extend your stay as early as possible to avoid disappointment should these excursions be of interest to you and/or your party. For further information please contact us.
General Information
Venue Rating
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Currency
US Dollar (USD)
Address
Fiesta Americana Condesa, Blvd.Kukulkán km 16.5 Zona Hotelera, Cancun, 77500 Mexico
Nearest Airport
Cancun International Airport
Location
Cancun is a delightful combination of natural beauty, islands, ecological reserves and white sandy beaches. However, besides sun, sand and sea, this destination also offers an infinite variety of underwater activities to choose from: the diving, snorkelling and fishing here are outstanding and you will find an undersea world packed with tropical fish that live on the second largest barrier reef in the world. Sports enthusiasts might choose one of the many eco-tourism activities, such as cycling or hiking through the tropical forest or kayaking through mangroves, or something a little more adventuresome, like zip lining through the treetops.
Apart from the more well-known ancient Mayan archealogical sites such as Tulum, Cobá and Chichén Itzá you may like to visit the Aktun Chen caverns, voted one of the Top 10 underwater walks by National Geographic described as a truly magical experience.
Gallery
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