Medicon Valley Alliance and WuXi AppTec would like to welcome you to a Boost seminar.
Come join us for an informative lunch event at the Medicon Valley Alliance! WuXi AppTec Experts will be sharing their expertise and insights to accelerate new drug discovery, so don’t miss out on this great opportunity to expand your knowledge.
Lunch will be provided, so all you need to bring is your appetite for learning. See you there!
Date: Wednesday 20th of November 2024
Time: 10:00 – 14:00
Venue: Medicon Valley Alliance, Arne Jacobsens Allé 15, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark – Hub2 Auditorium
Program
| 10:00 | Networking and registration |
| 10:20 | Welcome and introduction to Medicon Valley Alliance David Munis Zepernick, Director, Member Engagement & Communication, Medicon Valley Alliance Welcome to WuXi AppTec Rosie Hutchings, Executive Director, WuXi AppTec |
| 10:30 | Beyond Small Molecules – Enabling Diversity in Drug Modalities Dr. Robert Judkins, Project Management Director, WuXi AppTec |
| 10:45 | Seamless Discovery: Integrating Strategies for Efficient Hit Identification and Lead Optimization Dr. Alex Satz, Executive Director, Head of HITS Europe, WuXi AppTec |
| 11:00 | Accelerating the discovery of nucleic acid & peptide therapeutics with integrated platform Dr. Lijuan Pang, Project Director, WuXi AppTec |
| 11.15 | Empowering Science and Success: Accelerating Drug Discovery with In Vivo Pharmacology Insight Dr. Alessandro Spedito, Senior Director, WuXi AppTec |
| 11.30 | Follow the Molecule |DMPK-guided Drug Discovery Dr. Michael Gassen, Senior Advisor and SME, WuXi AppTec |
| 11:45 | Q&A Session |
| 12:15 | Networking and buffet reception |
| 14:00 | End of Boost Seminar |
Speakers
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Rosie Hutchings, Executive Director, WuXi AppTec Rosie is a seasoned business development professional with over thirty-five years of experience spanning a range of commercial, marketing and management roles in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. |
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Robert Judkins, Director, Project Management, WuXi AppTec Robert has over 25 years’ experience in drug discovery as a pre-clinical project manager and medicinal chemist. His experience covers the spectrum from early small molecule drug discovery, Lead Generation, up to late pre-clinical and candidate selection. His professional experience includes AstraZeneca, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge Discovery Chemistry and Roche. Most recently he co-founded a privately funded small biotech based in Sweden that developed small molecules for the treatment of NASH (Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis). In Aug 2024 he joined WuXi Apptec as Director, project management with Research Chemistry Services (RSC) and Integrated Project Management (IPM). |
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Dr. Alex Satz, Executive Director, Head of HITS Europe, WuXi AppTec Dr.Alex Satz has 17+ years experience building and leading DNA encoded library (DEL) technology platforms, and is currently the executive director of DEL strategy and operations at WuXi AppTec. Prior to joining WuXi AppTec, Alex built and led the Roche DEL platform in Basel Switzerland and Nutley USA, and helped to develop the first industrial-scale DEL platform at Praecis Pharmaceuticals (later purchased by GlaxoSmithKline). |
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Lijuan Pang, Project Director, WuXi AppTec Lijuan Pang studied Pharmacy and Chemical Biology at Peking University in China, and then she obtained her PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Basel in Switzerland, followed by postdoc at the Scripps Research Institute in California USA, where her research focused on chemo-enzymatic synthesis, high-throughput screening and targeting drug delivery. She worked as a chemist at Apotex and PPD, then as a project manager at Polyneuron Pharmaceuticals, where she led projects on production of preclinical batch materials, including oligosaccharides and peptide conjugates. From December 2021 Lijuan works as a project director at WuXi AppTec and her key responsibilities include project management, liaison internal and external communication, and technical support to business development activities, focusing on oligonucleotide drug discovery programs. |
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Alessandrop Spedito, Senior Director, WuXi AppTec After my masters in Human biology, I got my PhD in cell Biology in 2010, focusing on transcription modifications induced by hipometabolism. After my PhD, I joined the CRO industry, where in the last 15 years I have supported pharma and biotech companies in every step of drug development. I have been involved in different roles including sales and marketing. I have worked in several global companies such as Sigma Aldrich, Charles River and Merck. In 2021 I joined WuXi AppTec and in my role as Sr Director I continue to support global clients accelerate their drug discovery programs |
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Michael Gassen, Senior Advisor and SME, WuXi AppTec With a career spanning over two decades in the life science industry including leadership roles at Merck Germany, Nuvisan, and Envigo where he’s made significant contributions to pharmacology, drug metabolism, and analytical chemistry, Dr. Michael Gassen has partnered with WuXi AppTec Laboratory Testing Division since 2017. His work emphasizes innovative solutions in DMPK and pharmacology models, steering discovery, and preclinical development projects to Phase I submissions. His expertise extends across strategic R&D collaborations, business strategy execution, and scientific/regulatory consulting. Dr. Gassen earned a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Würzburg University, Germany, focusing on lipid peroxidation derived toxic aldehydes. |
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