Maximising the ability to identify a potential blockbuster drug has never been so important in the Pharmaceutical industry. With many of the hugely successful drugs from the 90’s coming to the end of their patents, the pressure is on to develop the next big hit. This has meant the design of strong lead compounds is a must, and new strategies are being developed for this wherever possible.

SMi’s 9th Annual Advances and Progress in Drug Design Conference, on the 22nd & 23rd February, 2010 in London aims to address the latest developments in drug design and offer tangible examples of these processes in practise. Attended by senior representatives from all the leading pharmaceutical companies this conference allows you to stay ahead of the game in drug design.

Hear from distinguished keynote speakers such as Paul Leeson, the Director of Medicinal Chemistry at AstraZeneca who will discuss the challenges facing drug design. He will also address the impact of drug-like properties, methods to tackle pipeline attrition and the use of ligand efficiency metrics. Following this presentation, Chris Phillips from Pfizer Global Research and Development will delve into structural approaches to NNRTI design and successful applications in their development.