Michigan State University in September will host a conference highlighting the state’s academic drug research and development activities, covering topics such as funding and the commercialization of therapeutic discoveries.
“There has been a largely unrecognized blossoming of drug discovery and development activity in the state, and the three major research universities — Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University — have all invested heavily in this area,” says Dr. Richard Neubig, chair of the department of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State.
Neubig says the “Cutting Edge/Drug Discovery and Development in Michigan Symposium” will bring together representatives from academia, contract research organizations, funders, and industry members to discuss drug discovery efforts and the future capacity within academic programs for more research.
The symposium includes presentations, panel discussions, exhibits, poster presentations, and a cocktail reception. Speakers include Barbara Slusher, director of the Academic Drug Discovery Consortium; Roger Newton, founder, executive vice president, and chief scientific officer at Esperion Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company; and Mark Gurney, president and CEO of Tetra Discovery Partners, a company that researches and develops drugs for treating psychiatric and neurological diseases.
Presentations and discussions will cover topics such as drug discovery partnerships, clinical development, and funding academic drug discovery.
The conference runs from Sept. 9-10 and costs $150 for MichBio members and $200 for non-members. To register, click here.
