MipTec 2012 for Drug Discovery and Life Sciences

The largest European conference on drug discovery, MipTec, continues to grow and offers a high‐calibre program from 24–27 September 2012. Over 3,000 scientists from industry and academia are expected to attend the presentations, workshops and user groups at MipTec which will be held jointly with the BioValley Life Sciences Week 2012 in the Congress Center Basel.

This autumn, the scientific elite in pharmaceutical research will again come together at MipTec, as they have done annually for over ten years. The event has grown from its origins as a specialist conference for laboratory automation into a leading global conference in the life sciences sector. By offering a broad and diverse, but also deeply scientific, conference program, MipTec plays a vital role in helping pharma and biotech scientists successfully attack the significant challenges in modern‐day drug research and development work.

The exchange of the latest scientific findings and technological innovations, as well as the improving integration of science and technology will be at the centre of this four‐day conference. For the organizers, it is especially important to create an interactive platform for researchers working in the life sciences, who would otherwise rarely meet.

Dr. Johannes Mosbacher, Steering Committee Chair of MipTec explains, "New life comes into being at interfaces, and we want to make our contribution in helping researchers to meet one another in order that they might discover and develop new drugs and other life sciences products more easily, quickly and efficiently”.

The role of public‐private partnerships
This year, MipTec will place the collaboration between private and public institutions in the spotlight. In three highly anticipated keynote presentations, the conference will highlight important international developments that will allow ever closer associations to be forged between industry and academia in the life sciences sector.

Introducing the subject will be Dr. George D. Yancopoulos, Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. The frequently‐cited scientist who is also a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences has the benefit of personal experience spanning academic research to the market launch of drugs.

Professor Andrew Hamilton, Vice‐Chancellor of Oxford University and a renowned expert in academic drug research, will provide commentary on the fundamental function and role that universities can or should play in drug discovery.

And, from the perspective of a private research institute, Dr. Melvin Reichman, President and Scientific Director of the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, will present new models for linking academic and entrepreneurial research efforts.

Topics covering medicinal chemistry, genetics and personalized medicine
The exchange of expertise will be fostered by a high‐caliber scientific event program that was put together by a volunteer international committee drawn from academia and industry.

The symposia, lecture series and user group meetings held at MipTec will cover every facet of drug discovery, with the following topics receiving special focus: computer‐assisted medicinal chemistry, personalized therapies, next‐generation sequencing (NGS), fragment‐based and phenotypic drug discovery, biopharmaceuticals and high‐content screening (HCS). In addition, there will be a workshop in which renowned specialists will discuss the new possibilities offered by synthetic biology.

MipTec – a success story
In the past 10 years, MipTec has established itself as the leading European event in its field. Over 3,000 visitors from 50 countries, from universities, large and small pharmaceutical companies and biotech companies use the annual MipTec conference and exhibition in Basel as an opportunity to exchange and discuss ideas, experiences and results with one another. Many participants return year after year to engage in stimulating dialogue and exchange with former colleagues and friends, and to make new ones.

Over 100 start‐ups and established companies will also offer visitors to MipTec an exhibition hall filled with the latest developments, products and services in the life sciences.

Free registration
Registration for MipTec 2012 is free to visitors from the scientific community and the pharmaceutical and allied sectors. MipTec 2012 will be held in conjunction with the BioValley Life Sciences Week, the most important networking event in the regional scientific and professional community. MipTec visitors will have complimentary free access to both events.