CNS Drug Development

The global CNS pharmaceuticals market, worth 55bn a year with 8% growth in 2007, is poised to become the number one target for drug development during the next decade.

In the middle of the global economic downturn, the central nervous system drug market is booming. Population growth, better diagnosis and unmet clinical needs mean 70 companies are vying for a market spanning from pain to schizophrenia to obesity.

And, as more of us live longer, the number of people with age-related brain diseases is spiraling. In Europe and the United States alone, this will mean 13.2 million Alzheimers and 16.2 million Parkinsons disease sufferers- worldwide- by 20502.

If effective therapies for such neurodegenerative disorders are not found soon, the financial, societal and emotional costs will be staggering. At the same time, many basic issues in CNS R&D remain unresolved, such as reducing production schedules and compound attrition.

By attending this conference, you will understand how these challenges in CNS drug development are being overcome, as well as:
How can drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier be improved?
Have new biomarkers been identifi ed to track disease existence or progression?
What are the future roles for stem cell and regenerative therapies in lead optimisation?
Will creating human-animal cytoplasmic hybrid embryos bring new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases?
How can new medicines that improve cognition be validated in clinical trials?
Should these drugs be available to the general public?
How can we overcome patient heterogeneity?
Is there a future for pharmacogenomics in psychiatry?

Who will be there?
Heads, Directors, Senior VPs, CSOs and Project leaders in:
CNS Clinical Discovery/Nervous System Research
Neuroscience
Neurology
Psychiatry/Molecular Psychiatry
Drug Discovery/Drug R&D/Drug Design
Emerging Targets/Lead Optimisation
Stem Cell Research/Stem Cell Regulatory Affairs
Therapeutics and Molecular Profi ling
Pain Management
Protein Technologies
Pre-Clinical/Clinical R&D
Genomics/Proteomics/Bioinformatics/Neuroinformatics
Translational Medicine
Global Marketing and Medicine
Disease Genetics
Pharmacology
Imaging
Immunology/immunotherapy

Key Speakers
Jacqueline Hunter, Senior Vice President, Science Environment Development, GlaxoSmithKline
Johan Luthman, TA Head, Neurology, Autoimmune & Inflammatory Diseases, Merck Serono
Mark Tricklebank, Director, Senior Research Fellow- Psychiatric Disorders Drug Hunting Team, Lilly UK
Leslie Iversen, Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford
Stephen Minger, Director, Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, Kings College London
Simmone Braggio, Director, Neuroscience CEDD DMPK, GlaxoSmithKline
Peter Jenner, Chief Scientific Officer, Proximagen
Keith Wesnes, Chief Executive, Cognitive Drug Research
Ann Hayes, Owner, The Ann Hayes Consultancy
Fabrizio Gasparini, Senior Research Investigator, Novartis
John Sinden, Chief Scientific Officer, ReNeuron
Claude Wischik, Executive Chairman, TauRx Therapeutics
Anders Haegerstand, Chief Scientific Officer, NeuroNova
Will Spooren, Project Leader, Drug Discovery, Hoffmann-La Roche
Jose de Leon, Director, Research Office, Eastern State Hospital, University of Kentucky
Steve England, Associate Research Fellow, Pfizer

Weblink: www.visiongain.com