SLAS Hosts First Annual China Conference and Exhibition

The newly merged Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS; St. Charles, IL, USA) hosted its First Annual China Conference and Exhibition in Shanghai (China), at the Shangri-La Hotel, on December 7-9, 2010. The newly launched event set the framework for future SLAS endeavors in Asia Pacific.

The meeting combined a series of presentations on new technologies and experimental approaches for hit and lead identification with the opportunity for local scientists to network with in an informal and engaging environment.

The conference hosted 25 exclusive scientific lectures presented by eminent scientists. Christopher Lipinski, PhD, from Melior Discovery (Exton, PA, USA) discussed the issue of compound failure in preclinical and clinical development and strategies to reduce this failure rate through improvements to the physiochemical properties of drug candidates.

Wei Zhang PhD, National Institutes of Health Chemical Genomics Center (NIH; Bethesda, MD, USA) presented on the use of cellular phenotypic screens for lead identification to enable the identification of molecules with improved efficacy.

At the exhibition, TTP Labtech (Royston, United Kingdom) launched the Mirrorball, a new laser scanning microplate cytometer designed primarily for the study of antibody/antigen interactions. The new instrument offers increased sensitivity and multiplexing capability compared to existing instruments.

As a complimentary benefit to conference participants, SLAS partnered with the Shanghai Zhangjiang Technology Park (Shanghai, China) for a private pre-event function highlighted by three additional scientific lectures. The primary presentation was given by Xin Xie, PhD, head of assay development, Chinese National Center for Drug Screening (Shanghai, China).

A guided tour of the technology park was given to meeting participants. The park houses 110 research and development institutions and 327 companies including leading pharmaceutical companies.

According to SLAS scientific program committee chair Steven Rees at GlaxoSmithKline (Stevenage, United Kingdom), the conference was "phenomenally successful.” He added, "Bringing SLAS to Shanghai has demonstrated the interest and expertise in drug discovery in China, and the enthusiasm of the local scientists to partner with the SLAS community.”

Related Links:
Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening
GlaxoSmithKline
Melior Discovery
TTP Labtech