Conference Day Two - Thursday June 5, 2025
7:20 am Morning Refreshments & Networking
7:55 am Chairs Opening Remarks
Exploring the Cutting Edge of Structure-Based Drug Design: Translating Theory into Practice Through Industrial Applications of SBDD Unlocking Complex Targets
8:00 am Deciphering Ion Channel Opening with Structural Interrogation from TimeResolved Cryo-EM to Small Molecule Modulation
Synopsis
- Explore how time-resolved Cryo-EM enables visualization of ion channel conformational changes in real-time, shedding light on gating mechanisms and functional transitions
- Examine case studies on how ligand binding influences ion channel activity, stabilizing open or closed states and offering new opportunities for drug targeting
- Discuss strategies for working with challenging ion channel samples, optimizing data acquisition, and integrating multiple structural techniques to gain a comprehensive mechanistic understanding
8:30 am Exploring high-throughput data collection on a JEOL CRYO ARM
Synopsis
- Introducing the JEOL company and the breath of the product line
- Introducing the CRYO ARM and its concepts
- Exploring various case studies and discuss how these results can be leveraged to accelerate your research
9:00 am Structure-based Drug Discovery for Targeting RNA with Small Molecules
Synopsis
- Leveraging an integrative structural biology approach to inform on RNA/ligand interactions
- High-resolution structure determination of RNA/small molecule complexes to accelerate ligand optimization
- Development of RNA-targeted small molecules for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1
9:30 am ALPX: Transparent and Automated Structural Biology Platforms for Accelerating Drug Discovery
Synopsis
- ALPX is providing rapid and transparent structural biology insights across X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM to accelerate drug discovery
- Our automated, high-throughput platforms, including proprietary CrystalDirect™, CRIMS and integrated cryo-EM workflows, deliver swift, reliable results even for challenging drug targets
- Partner with ALPX for a one-stop, expert solution that efficiently advances your projects from promising hits to validated lead candidates through comprehensive structural biology
9:40 am cEM enables SBDD for integral membrane targets at Boehringer Ingelheim
Synopsis
- Discuss challenges and successes in protein production, biophysics and structural biology of membrane proteins, highlighting advancements in cryo-EM
- Strategic view on timelines and challenges for structural enablement in the drug discovery setting
- Case study for SBDD highlighting the impact for drug discovery in different project stages
10:10 am Morning Break
11:00 am Structure-Based Approaches to Modulating Protein-Protein Interactions by Predicting & Designing Molecular Glues
Synopsis
- Investigate how small molecule molecular glues, can be designed to modulate proteinprotein interactions using structural insights
- Examine computational strategies, including docking simulations and molecular dynamics, for predicting and optimizing molecular glue formation
- Explore case studies from different therapeutic areas including cancer, neurodegenerative disease and other complex disorders where structure-based design of molecular glues has led to therapeutic breakthroughs
11:30 am WuXi Biology Structural Biology Platform for Early-Stage Drug Discovery Bullet point synopsis
Synopsis
- The WuXi Biology Structural Biology, based in Munich, Germany (Crelux) and Suzhou, China offers a range of X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM services to support our clients’ early-stage drug discovery projects
- X-ray crystallography – Off-the-shelf targets, gene-to-structure projects, fragment screening
- Cryo-EM – Enabling SBDD of membrane proteins and targeted protein degradation complexes
11:40 am Structural Design Strategies for Developing Next-Generation Vaccines
Synopsis
- Learn how structural biology enables the identification and design of stable, immunogenic epitopes, using technologies like cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography to tailor antigens that can trigger robust immune responses
- Discover how vaccine candidates are designed by optimizing antigen structures, addressing challenges like antigenic variation, and focusing on conserved regions to enhance broad protection against evolving pathogens
- Explore how structural insights are leading to the design of vaccines against “undruggable” or challenging targets, where understanding protein folding and conformational flexibility is key to developing novel immunogens
12:10 pm Automated CryoEM Structure Fitting and Heterogeneity Exploration with Weighted Ensemble MD Simulation
Synopsis
- Cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) is a central part of understanding biomolecules’ conformational and compositional ensembles
- Structural modelers using cryoEM are required to model many density maps, which is intensive in time and compute resources
- OpenEye CMS has developed automated workflows, enabled on the cloud, for simultaneously producing models consistent with many maps, which provide key insights into biomolecules’ conformational ensembles
12:40 pm Lunch Break
1:30 pm Advancing PROTAC Drug Design with Structure-Based Strategies for Optimizing Targeted Protein Degraders
2:00 pm Powering SBDD with Industrial-Scale Cryo-EM Solutions
Synopsis
- GPR75: Revealing Activation Mechanisms in Orphan GPCRs: Shuimu Bio solved the world’s first high-resolution structure of GPR75, offering key insights into active-state stabilization and its implications for structure-based drug design (SBDD)
- CD73: From a Difficult Target to a Clinical Candidate: Through close collaboration with I-Mab Biopharma, successfully resolved the 3D structure of the CD73 dimerantibody complex, revealing the non-competitive mechanism of action
- Scalable Cryo-EM for Drug Discovery Acceleration: Shuimu’s industrial-scale Cryo-EM infrastructure and proprietary AI-assisted paltform enable high-throughput structural analysis of complex membrane proteins — reducing turnaround from months to weeks across discovery pipelines
2:10 pm Advancing Structure-Based Drug Design to Unlock Transcription Factors as Druggable Targets
2:40 pm Structural Advances in GPCR dynamics: Unlocking Drug Discovery through Cryo-EM
Synopsis
- Structural characterization of GPCRs in various conformational states is essential for understanding activation mechanisms, downstream pharmacology, and the development of biologic drugs.
- Advances in cryo-EM and innovative techniques have revolutionized membrane protein structural studies, overcoming challenges in GPCR-targeted drug discovery
- The Tectonic GEODe™ platform enables the stabilization of active and inactive GPCR conformations, enhancing the discovery of biologics and expanding therapeutic possibilities
3:10 pm Afternoon Break
4:15 pm Panel & Roundtable Discussion: Translating Cross-Modality Learnings & Charting the Future of Structure-Based Drug Design
Synopsis
As we wrap up a day of case studies and innovation, join us for a dynamic session that combines expert perspectives with interactive discussion to reflect on cross-modality structural biology strategies and explore the future of structure-based drug design.
- What are the emerging trends in structure-based drug design that hold the most promise for advancing therapeutics across different modalities?
- How can the integration of various structural biology techniques unlock new opportunities for multi-modal therapeutic approaches?
- What areas of structural biology require greater focus or investment to accelerate progress and benefit multiple therapeutic modalities?
- Looking ahead: What are the key scientific or technological breakthroughs we can expect in the next 5-10 years that will transform structure-based drug design?