Explore the Agenda
7:30 am Check in & Light Breakfast
8:20 am Program Directors Opening Remarks
8:25 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Applying AI & Machine Learning to Structure-Based Drug Design & Discovery to Improve Prediction, Design & Decision Making Across the Discovery Pipeline
8:30 am Engineering Soluble GPCRs for Antibody Drug Discovery
- GPCRs are challenging membrane targets to express and purify for antibody drug discovery
- Generative AI can reengineer GPCRs into soluble formats ready for drug discovery
- This technology enables antibody discovery against Amylin Receptor, a next-generation obesity target
9:00 am Validating AI/ML Models for Structural Biology Through Benchmarking & Experimental Validation to Separate Actionable Tools from Hype
- Benchmarking AI/ML models against relevant structural biology datasets to understand how performance varies across applications, targets, and data types
- Combining computational predictions with wet-lab validation to determine whether model outputs translate into experimentally meaningful improvements
- Establishing robust validation frameworks for AI adoption to give discovery teams greater confidence when selecting tools and investing them into SBDD workflows
9:30 am Panel Discussion: Moving Beyond AI Hype to Deliver Actionable Structure-Based Drug Design by Validating Models, Integrating Experimental Data & Demonstrating Real-World Impact
AI and machine learning are rapidly becoming embedded within structural biology and drug discovery, but the research community is increasingly asking a more practical question: which approaches genuinely improve SBDD outcomes? With model performance varying by application, training data often limited, and automated structure solution and docking still facing significant challenges, integrating AI effectively requires rigorous validation and close collaboration with experimental structural biology. Join computational scientists, structural biologists, and AI developers as they discuss how to translate AI advances into measurable SBDD improvements by:
- Identifying where AI delivers genuine value across SBDD, evaluating applications beyond protein folding prediction, including structure prediction, cryo-EM processing, molecular design, docking, and experimental data analysis
- Validating AI/ML approaches against real-world experimental data, discussing how independent benchmarking, wet-lab validation, and appropriate performance measures can establish confidence in new models and distinguish useful tools from overpromoted solutions
- Integrating AI with experimental structural biology, exploring how prediction models and experimental methods can complement one another to improve speed, fidelity, resolution, and decision making across the SBDD workflow
10:00 am Introduction to Speed Networking
10:05 am Speed Networking
This informal session offers the perfect opportunity to connect with industry front-runners and key opinion leaders specializing in structure based drug design. This is your chance to build meaningful connections to carry through the rest of the conference, while gaining exclusive, firsthand insights into the latest research and developments.
10:45 am Morning Break & Networking
11:00 am Accelerating Structure-Based Design of Emerging Modalities Through High-Throughput Structural Biology
- Scaling automated X-ray crystallography and structural biology workflows to rapidly generate structures across large numbers of targets
- Integrating automation and AI-driven workflows to accelerate the path from raw experimental data to partially refined structures and actionable structural insights
- Applying high-throughput structural approaches to emerging modalities, including macrocycles and peptides, to expand the scope of structure-based drug discovery beyond conventional small molecules
Solving Structures for Complex Targets & Emerging Modalities to Expand the Reach of SBDD Beyond Conventional Small-Molecule Targets
11:30 am Session Reserved for CryoCloud
12:00 pm Discovery & Optimization of NEO-811, a First-in-Class Molecular Glue Degrader of ARNT, Utilizing Structure-Based Drug Design
- Applying Cryo-EM to resolve ternary complex structures and guide targeted protein degradation strategies
- Leveraging structural insights to accelerate the preclinical characterization and optimization of NEO-811
- Interrogating the neosubstrate–ligase interface to understand the molecular basis of degradation
12:30 pm Lunch & Networking
Solving Structures for Complex Targets & Emerging Modalities to Expand the Reach of SBDD Beyond Conventional Small-Molecule Targets – Session Continued
1:30 pm Applying Cryo-EM & Cryo-Tomography to Complex Drug Modalities to Expand Structure-Based Discovery Beyond Conventional Small-Molecule Targets
- Applying cryo-EM and cryo-tomography to increasingly complex biological systems to generate structural information where conventional crystallography may be difficult to apply
- Exploring in-cell and near-native structural approaches to investigate targets within more physiologically relevant environments and capture complex biological interactions
- Translating emerging structural information into drug discovery strategies to expand the reach of SBDD towards new targets and therapeutic modalities
2:00 pm Session Reserved for Structura Biotechnology
Extending SBDD to Protein Degradation, Biologics & Next-Generation Therapeutics to Unlock New Opportunities for Structure-Guided Drug Discovery
2:30 pm Applying Structural Biology to Targeted Protein Degradation to Understand Molecular Glue & PROTAC Interactions Beyond Conventional SBDD
- Characterizing degrader-induced protein interactions using structural approaches to understand how molecular glues and PROTACs engage targets and form productive complexes
- Comparing structural observations with functional degradation data to distinguish biologically meaningful interactions from artefacts arising during structural analysis
- Using structural insights to guide degrader design and optimization to improve understanding of target engagement and support more rational TPD development
3:00 pm Poster Session & Afternoon Break
Connect with peers in a relaxed atmosphere and continue building new and existing relationships while exploring the latest advancements in structure based drug design.
To submit a poster, please contact info@hansonwade.com
Extending SBDD to Protein Degradation, Biologics & Next-Generation Therapeutics to Unlock New Opportunities for Structure-Guided Drug Discovery – Session Continued
4:00 pm Leveraging Cryo-EM to Elucidate the Mechanism of Action of MGD-Induced Ternary Complex Formation
- Exploring the application of the Degron Therapeutics platform to identify and investigate novel MGD targets
- Leveraging Cryo-EM to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying MGD-induced ternary complex formation
- Examining case studies across different targets to demonstrate how structural insights can reveal mechanisms of action and inform key drug discovery questions
4:30 pm Panel Discussion: Extending SBDD Beyond Conventional Small Molecules to Unlock Actionable Structural Insights for Degraders, Biologics & Complex Therapeutics
Structure-based drug design has traditionally been strongest when applied to well-defined protein-ligand interactions, but the emergence of protein degraders, biologics, and other complex modalities is challenging researchers to rethink how structural information should be interpreted and applied. Join structural biologists, medicinal chemists, protein engineers, and drug discovery leaders as they discuss how SBDD can evolve beyond traditional small molecules by:
- Determining where traditional SBDD principles apply to targeted protein degradation, exploring how structural information can inform molecular glue and PROTAC design while recognising that observed interactions may not always reflect functional behaviour
- Using structural information to improve biologic design, discussing how structures can inform not only binding affinity but also protein expression, stability, developability, and molecular engineering
- Adapting structural workflows for complex therapeutic modalities, exploring how advances in cryo-EM and other structural approaches can generate actionable insights into increasingly complex biological interactions and mechanisms of action