Interactive Breakout Discussions

This session features various discussion groups that are led by a moderator/s who ensures focused conversations around the key issues listed. Attendees choose to join a specific group and the small, informal setting facilitates sharing of ideas and active networking. It will be followed by a refreshment break in the exhibit hall.

WEDNESDAY, 28 NOVEMBER, 14:50-16:00

Preclinical Models for Cancer Immunotherapy and Combinations

Preclinical Modeling and Combination Therapy Development: Models and Strategies

Moderators: 

Sara Colombetti, PhD, Head of Oncology Discovery Pharmacology, Roche Innovation Center Zürich 

Michael Rugaard Jensen, PhD, Director, Head of ONC Discovery Pharmacology Basel, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research

  • Advantages and limitations of preclinical mouse models for immunotherapy evaluation
  • How can 3D models help drug discovery in cancer immunotherapy?
  • What other animal species, besides the mouse, could be evaluated for in vivo testing of cancer immunotherapies?
  • Combination therapy: preclinical considerations

Next Generation 3D Models and Co-Clinical Trials
Moderator:
Christian Schmees, PhD, Head of Tumor Biology, Molecular Biology Department, NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tübingen

  • Which approaches can be applied to better mimic in vivo physiology in 3D disease models?
  • iPSCs as a reproducible source for macrophages in 3D co-cultures.
  • Definition and control of comprehensive, international quality standards for patient-derived 3D models.
  • Medical informatics approaches to establish internal and external access points to clinical data and for data integration.
  • Application of 3D disease models in precision medicine approaches.

    • Optimizing Leads and Predicting Drug Toxicity

    Drug Bioactivation: The Good, The Bad and The UglyModerator:Axel Pähler, E.R.T., DMPK/PD Leader, Pharmaceutical Sciences (PS), Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center

    • Bioactivation as a risk factor for drug induced toxicities such as DILI
    • Case studies of reactive metabolite formation linked to safety failures and key learnings
    • Bioactivation reactions that determine the pharmacological mode of action
    • Key learnings from old drugs and novel strategies to design selective new inhibitors for safe use

    Use of Modeling Tools and Strategies for Predicting ADME-Tox Properties

    Maria A. Miteva, PhD, Research Director, Molécules Thérapeutiques in silico (MTi), Inserm Institute

    • Machine-learning or structure-based approaches for ADME-Tox prediction and optimization?
    • Should the modeling tools for toxicity predicting be specific for xenobiotics and drugs?
    • Quantum-mechanics methods for drug metabolism prediction

    Target Identification & Validation Strategies

    CRISPR/Cas9 for Drug Discovery ApplicationsModerators:John Doench, PhD, Associate Director, Genetic Perturbation Platform, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT

    • Impact of CRISPR/Cas9 for drug discovery in pharma and academia
    • Applications for functional screens, creating cell lines and disease models
    • Design and optimization of low- and high-throughput screens using CRISPR approaches
    • Application of CRISPR-knockout, -activation and -inhibition
    • Impact of new CRISPR technologies and reagents

    Use of Chemical Biology and Chemical Probes in Drug DiscoveryModerator:Paul Brennan, PhD, Associate Professor, Medicinal Chemistry, University of Oxford and Principal Investigator, Target Discovery Institute, Structural Genomics Consortium

    • Main applications of Chemical Biology in Drug Discovery projects
    • When should Chemical Biology be used in Discovery programs?
    • Labelled and label-free proteomic techniques for target identification

    NASH and Fibrosis: Translational Research and Strategies

    Animal Models for FibrosisModerator:Bryan C. Fuchs, PhD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School

    • Who has used what?
    • Pros and cons of different models
    • What looks promising

    NASH Drug Development ChallengesModerator:Dean W. Hum, PhD, CSO, Genfit

    • Role of biomarkers
    • European v. FDA guidance
    • Defining target population

    THURSDAY, 29 NOVEMBER, 15:05-16:05

    3D Cellular Models

    Microphysiological Systems for Drug ScreeningModerator:Hansjoerg Keller, PhD, Sr. Investigator I, Musculoskeletal, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research

    • Key advantages over classical 2D cell culture models
    • Reliability and translatability of human systems
    • Applicability, throughput and cost effectiveness

    Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

    Human Pluripotent Stem Cells and Their Use as A Massive Platform for Organoid GenerationModerator:Nuria Montserrat, PhD, Group Leader, Pluripotency for organ regeneration, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)

    • How to benefit from bioengineering approaches in order to enhance organoid maturation/vascularization
    • Immediate applications from 3D bioprinting using organoids
    • Ethic issues related to the use of human pluripotent stem cells

    Translational Biomarkers in Immuno-Oncology

    Immunological Determinants of Response to Systemic Therapy In CancerModerators:Sofia Braga, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Instituto CUF Oncologia, NOVA Medical SchoolAbraham Silva Carmona, Pathologist, Definiens, Subsidiary of Medimmune/AstraZeneca

    • Neoplastic cell attributes: neoantigen load, mutational burden, mismatch repair deficient cells / high microsatelite instability 
    • Immune system attributes: baseline T cell infiltration; cytotoxic "antitumor" T cells, low tolerogenic T cells, PDL1, CD8, B2M; TCR sequencing; T cell clones; intact immunity
    • Translational biomarkers in pharma research: strategy and timeline

    Liquid Biopsy in IO researchModerator:Evi Lianidou, PhD, Professor of Clinical Chemistry, University of Athens

    • Tumor diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment
    • Blood tests / biomarkers
    • Mutational analysis of tumors and blood

    CNS Models and Translational Strategies

    Dish, Animal or Patient: How Can We Best Understand Neurodegenerative Disease?Moderator:Stuart W. Hughes, PhD, Director and Head of Pharmacology, Biological Sciences, Vertex Pharmaceuticals

    • Is failure in neurodegenerative diseases related to a focus on inappropriate models?
    • Can neurodegeneration truly be modeled in vitro?
    • Should we pursue the biology of causation or progression?
    • What does a ‘validate target’ mean when it comes to neurodegenerative diseases?

    Should a Robust Translational Path from Animals to Humans be Required to Advance a Compound?Moderator:William Z. Potter, MD, PhD, Senior Advisor, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH)

    • Should a biomarker of drug effect in human brain always be required  to advance a novel compound into efficacy studies
    • Does there need to be preclinical data with a homologous biomarkers (e.g. fMRI for both animals and humans)?
    • If not, what constitutes adequate evidence that some brain effect observed in animals is occurring in humans?
    • Given clinical need are there arguments to advance compounds with some biomarker of acute effect?

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