Drug Discovery Conference

The international event 'Drug Discovery conference' will take place from 27 to 29 August, 2015 in Riga, Latvia. The conference will cover topics from organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry to biological and pharmacological applications of novel ligands. This conference is organised in the frame of the FP7 project INNOVABALT (Strengthening the research and innovative capacities of the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, the leading Baltic regional centre for drug discovery).

From 1 September, 2013, the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis (LIOS) implemented the 7th Framework Programme project INNOVABALT (Grant Agreement Nr.316149). The general objective of the INNOVABALT project is to strengthen multidisciplinary research capacities, management of intellectual property as well as human resources in the innovative drug discovery at LIOS. LIOS is the leading regional research centre for drug discovery, which works in the field of organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry and the pharmaceutical development of compounds designed for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and CNS disorders. LIOS has a clear vision of its mission: to perform sustained research activities in the domain of innovative drug discovery.

During the INNOVABALT project, activities and achievements have included:
- promotion of the exchange of expertise, know-how and experience through long-lasting (4-5 months) outgoing visits and incoming visits of researchers from INNOVABALT partnering institutions;
- recruitment of researchers, upgraded scientific equipment and training of researchers which have increased the research capacities and capabilities of LIOS;
- increased visibility of LIOS which was reached through the regular participation and exploitation of research results at international conferences and through the organisation of international events in Latvia.

The Drug Discovery conference taking place from 27 to 29 August in Riga will be the central event of the INNOVABALT project. The scientific programme and discussions will be organised for chemists in organic and analytical chemistry and process development, as well as pharmacologists and biologists to present investigations of mechanistic aspects of developmental drugs. Session for the stakeholders will be organised during the conference.

There will be a satellite seminar dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Chemistry of Heterocyclic Compound journal (http://hgs.osi.lv/index.php/hgs). The plenary lecture and session topics of the Drug Discovery Conference will include human drug targets, GPCRs and ligands, epigenetics, anti-infectives, anti-cancer, cardiovascular and CNS drug discovery, synthesis of natural products, silicon containing drug candidates, gene delivery, carbonic anhydrases and protein x-ray crystallography in drug discovery. A preliminary programme for the conference and registration for participation is available on the INNOVABALT homepage http://www.innovabalt.eu/?zina=22