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The qualitative and quantitative characterization of endogenous and exogenous analytes in biological systems are the basis of drug discovery and development. This track will highlight important developments in bioanalytical technologies, including advances in label free technologies, applications of target and mechanism deconvolution techniques and omics approaches to biomarker analysis. Planned sessions include:

• Label-Free High-Throughput Bioanalytical Technologies


• Label-Free Bioanalytical Technologies: Emerging Fields of Application


• Multi-Omic Biomarker Approaches for Target-Disease Link


• Target Discovery and Mechanism Deconvolution in Drug Discovery

This track will focus on recent innovations across the assay development and screening discipline, including the adoption of novel technologies and the implementation of effective, innovative screening campaigns and hit triage strategies. Attendees will learn about the development of robust, physiologically relevant biochemical, biophysical and cellular assays that are crucial for identifying novel targets and active ligands that engage their targets directly. There will be an emphasis on recent case studies where cutting-edge assay approaches have increased the success rates of screening for target discovery and lead identification campaigns. Additional attention will be paid to screening efforts that have been coupled with next-generation therapeutic modalities and novel mechanisms of action to broaden the scope of target classes that can be drugged. Taken together, the overall track will highlight advances in the fields of assay development and screening that enhance efforts to identify, validate and characterize novel targets and potential leads molecules. Planned sessions include:

• Advanced Imaging and High-Content Assays


• Applications of CRISPR Technology in Drug Discovery


• Biochemical & Biophysical Assays


• DNA-Encoded Libraries


• In vitro Immunological Assays


• Chemical Biology Applications in Drug Discovery


• Physiologically Relevant Cell Models for Target Discovery and Screening


• Multi-Omic Approaches in Drug Discovery

This track focuses on the innovative use of biological or chemistry applications, tools, technologies and techniques as they pertain to automated high throughput screening, the advancement of laboratory processes or improvement of the quality and impact of experimental laboratory data. Emphasis is placed on advancements in chemically and biologically relevant technologies using engineering, analytical, informatics and application to cutting edge automation-assisted research. Planned sessions include:

• Screening & Profiling at Higher-Throughput Using Physiologically Relevant Cell Models


• Technologies to Bridge the Gap Between High-Content and High-Throughput


• Automating Screening Processes


• Automating Chemistry in the Age of AI


• Integrated and Iterative Automated Processes to Enable Hit Discovery for the Future


• Microtiter Plates and Beyond: High-Throughput Miniaturization While Maintaining Physiological Relevance


• Novel Automation Solutions: Products, Devices and Software Used to Support Experimental and Data Workflows


• Scaling Diagnostic Processes to Address a Global Pandemic

Attendees will learn from industry and academic leaders about new cellular technologies and their application in the understanding of normal physiology and disease, and in the generation of disease-relevant models for drug discovery and pre-clinical development. The track will cover models used for illuminating functional genomics and for pharmacology, ADME or toxicity outcomes. The technologies covered will include the generation and use of patient-derived models, iPSC models, complex co-cultures, organoids, organ-on-chips and microphysiologic models. The track will also include cellular therapeutics and cell technologies to support biologics and gene therapy approaches. Planned sessions include:

• Physiologically Relevant Cellular Models in Drug Development


• Cellular Advancements Using Organoid and Organ-on-a-Chip Technology


• Disease-Relevant Cellular Models for Drug Discovery


• Development and Safety of Cellular Therapeutics

This last year's global pandemic required massive shifts in how we work. Labs have been challenged to innovate so that data are findable, shareable and secure regardless of where a scientist physically works. The impact of technology to support and enable remote work has come into hyper-focus and the changes of this past year have shown that the investment in automation and data science has significant benefits. This track will focus on the rapidly evolving role of digital technology and scientific information management as well as the hardware and software of the modern lab. Emphasis will be placed on how we can continue to stay on the cutting edge of automation and informatics. Labs and research across all sectors can benefit from digital transformations as we enter a new age of data science and AI, and while we may be eager to return to how some things used to be, the ways researchers interface with and can be supported by technology are forever changed. Planned sessions include:

• Lab Design for the Future


• Building the Lab of the Future


• Sustainability for the Future


• Integrating AI into the Lab of the Future

Micro- and nano-scale technologies have leveraged their unique physics and their ability to interact with biological systems at matched length scales to advance novel insights into human health. When combined with automation, micro- and nano-scale technologies can not only process samples at higher throughput, but also provide completely new paradigms for scientific and medical inquiry by allowing researchers to study complex biological systems at the right statistical and experimental complexity. This track will highlight recent convergence of advances in fluidics, biochemistry, imaging and data analysis, enabling the study of 10,000's to millions of reactions, compartments and molecules with unprecedented precision. Planned sessions include:

• High-Throughput Multi-Omics Assays


• Automated Solutions for In-Situ Sequencing


• Automated Synthetic Tissues, Organs and Systems


• Liquid Biopsies

Our disease understanding revealed therapeutic targets that are challenging to treat with traditional small molecule approaches. The next generation of therapeutics needs novel drug-target strategies that transcend usual hit finding. This track will provide drug discovery scientists with the latest information on antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, peptides, biologics, bispecific degraders, molecular glues, nucleic acid-targeted molecules, oligonucleotides and emerging pathway targets. The information will enable expansion of our therapeutic opportunities. Planned sessions include:

• PROTACS and Beyond


• Transcending Undruggable Targets via New Pathway Modulation


• Molecular Glues


• Nucleic Acid-Targeted Drug Discovery


• Peptides and Small Proteins


• Advances in Antibody–Drug Conjugates


• E3 Ligases


• Nucleic Acid Therapeutics

Omics technologies have become an integral part of science and medicine, from cutting edge discovery of biomakers to a personalized approach to health and wellness including early detection and treatment of cancer. In this session we explore four main avenues where omics approaches have revolutionized cancer research, personal health and wellness, single cell and spatial technologies, and drug discovery and therapy. Planned sessions include:

• Omics in Cancer


• Omics in Personal Health and Wellness


• Single-Cell and Spatial Omics Technologies


• Omics in Drug Discovery and Therapy

The Precision Medicine and Diagnostics track focuses on approaches that aim to resolve disease complexity. This includes molecular, biochemical, bioengineering and bioinformatic strategies in disease biology, diagnostics, screening and translational medicine. The session will emphasize the application of state-of-the-art, quantitative, high-throughput and high-resolution approaches to both cellular models and complex tissues. These strategies enable multiparametric computational analyses to reveal the complex interplay of genetics, cell types and drugs to advance precision medicine. Topics include improvements in stem cell-based disease modelling, bioengineering, molecular and cellular assays, and bioinformatic approaches. Planned sessions include:

• Translatable Patient-Derived Models


• Engineered Cells for Precision Medicine


• Applied Omics for Precision Medicine


• Next-Generation Diagnostic Modalities