This session will explore the critical journey of translating a scientific concept into a viable CNS therapeutic. Industry leaders will discuss the primary challenges and emerging solutions in neuroscience drug development, from initial discoveries to clinical application. Key topics to be discussed include developing disease models with translational relevance, identifying and validating causal therapeutic targets, leveraging biomarkers for patient stratification and defining meaningful trial endpoints, and innovating safe and efficient methods for drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier. Attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of the current and emerging therapeutic landscape and future directions in bringing novel treatments to patients with neurological disorders.

The metabolic disease treatment landscape is transforming rapidly. While GLP-1 receptor agonists have demonstrated remarkable efficacy, addressing the full scope of metabolic dysfunction requires therapeutic diversity from the perspectives of mechanism, durability, and patient fit. This session examines complementary modalities, each offering distinct advantages. Small molecules - including neuroinflammation inhibitors, exercise mimetics, and metabolic modulators - provide mechanistic diversity with oral convenience. Genetic medicines enable durable upstream pathway modification with infrequent or one-time dosing. Protein therapeutics target growth factor pathways to optimize body composition and preserve lean mass. The discussion will address how mechanistically distinct approaches can work synergistically with incretin therapy - and with each other - to achieve outcomes beyond what any single modality delivers alone.

Until recently, drug discovery has been limited by fundamental practical constraints such as the range of proteins that exist in nature or the availability of samples, time, and funding for experiments. Now, drug hunters are circumventing these limitations by using generative AI models to explore a vast chemical design space that extends far beyond the bounds of natural protein diversity, or to simulate complex biological experiments entirely in silico. This session will examine how leading drug developers are integrating AI-driven protein and gene-expression models with high-throughput experimental systems to navigate biological complexity. These approaches are increasingly demonstrating their ability to accelerate preclinical discovery timelines, uncover drug candidates that might be overlooked by traditional methods, improve the oral bioavailability of biologics, and design first-in-class therapies with no natural analogues. Drawing on the experience of biotech’s at the forefront of ...

Long before immunotherapy took center stage, it lived on the margins of oncology. Those pursuing it were often politely dismissed as “dreamers,” relegated to the back rooms at ASCO as well-intentioned, but unrealistic in their belief that the immune system could be trained to fight cancer. Rather than abandon the idea, they chose to stay on the path less travelled. This panel brings together members of that original community of quiet architects who helped turn scientific curiosity into a life-extending standard of care. Their conversation will reflect on the moments of uncertainty, the small signals that kept them moving forward, and the collaborations that gave early observations room to grow. Lastly, panelists will explore the future they envision - new immune pathways, next-generation combinations, and emerging tools that may help uncover deeper and more durable responses.