Pivot Park and Oncode present a Cancer Drug Discovery Seminar – Opportunities and Challenges. 

During this in-person event, we are bringing together academic researchers from the Oncode Institute and industrial experts in the field of (immune-)oncology. Several experts in cancer drug discovery will present about topics such as: best practices for (early) target identification and validation, hit finding, and further downstream hit-to-lead activities.  

Furthermore, there will be a tour to Pivot Park Screening Centre and the opportunity to network with Oncode and industry attendees. The event will take place at Pivot Park life sciences campus in Oss. 

Practical Information
Date: 14 September, 2022
Location: Pivot Park, Life Sciences campus in Oss
Format: In person
Target audience: Oncode Investigators and researchers who are interested in drug development. 

Programme and registration
You can find the preliminary programme here. 
Registration is possible on our community platform.
Note that you need to register for this event again even if you have registered in the past.

Goals
Providing information and creating awareness in drug discovery & development processes, technologies, and necessary steps involved.
Connecting companies based at Pivot Park and beyond with Oncode researchers to start collaborative projects.

Summary
The discovery and development of first-in-class drugs often begins with the identification of a new drug target, such as an enzyme linked to a disease process. Once a new target has been identified, various strategies are used to validate the target and to support decisions toward initiating an extensive drug discovery program and later, conducting a proof-of-concept trial in humans. This process is usually time and resource consuming and require specific expertise compared with scientific discovery research. Hence, often newly identified drug targets originate from academic research with the biopharma industry typically leading drug discovery and development, including the optimization and selection of drug candidates, preclinical safety studies and clinical trials. 

This event has been designed to support academic scientists and funders of translational research in identifying and prioritizing therapeutic targets and development activities along with defining a critical path to reach scientific goals in line with goals towards licensing, partnering with industry or initiating clinical development programs. Speakers from academia and Industry will showcase examples of drug discovery and development approaches, capabilities, and challenges to explore synergistic expertise. 

Contact Information
Jacqueline Staring: jacqueline.staring@oncode.nl
Yuva Oz: yuva.oz@oncode.nl