Dear Colleagues:

Lille, the capital of the Nord-Pas-de Calais region in Northern France, provides an idyllic venue for the 15th Annual SBS Conference & Exhibition.  Lille, combining both ancient and modern history, gastronomy and science, is renowned for its many medieval castles, palaces and citadels.  It houses the internationally acclaimed 110-year-old Institute Pasteur, and in the modern era has become a crossroads for travelers due to the development of the high-speed rail network linking Lille to Amsterdam, Brussels, London and Paris.

2009 Conference Theme
2009 is a momentous year for SBS, marking the 15th  anniversary of the formation of the Society.  Our conference theme, Bioassay & Technology Innovation: 15 Years of Shaping Drug Discovery, has been developed to celebrate this milestone.  We will consider the impact of the application of automated technologies for hit and lead identification on our industry.  We will aim to address questions that include the following: How has HTS fueled the clinical pipeline and filled the shelves of our doctors? How can we apply cutting-edge expertise to continue to address unmet clinical needs?  How can the expertise of SBS members be applied to new therapeutic modalities such as biopharmaceuticals and RNAi?

2009 Scientific Program
We have developed sessions themed around Drug-Discovery Strategy, Drug-Discovery Technology and Target Biology.  In the Drug-Discovery Strategy sessions, we will debate the diversity of hit identification tactics, the challenges in delivering a quality candidate, and drug repositioning. The technology sessions, a mainstay of all our conferences, span sample management to novel assay technologies to the hot topic of stem cells.

In the Target Biology sessions, we will explore the challenges faced when developing drugs against both tractable targets and targets considered to be intractable to small molecule drug discovery.  We aim to address the issues of drug discovery for protein/protein interactions, amino acid transporters, and kinase drug discovery for diseases in addition to cancer.  A full-day session will be devoted to anti-infective drug discovery, which will focus on both antiobiotic and antiviral therapeutics for diseases of both developed and less developed countries.

GPCR Drug Discovery
Two full days will be devoted to reviewing advances in GPCR drug discovery.  This extended session, featuring internationally known speakers, will address GPCR structure and its impact on ligand identification; receptor allosterism and new therapeutic modalities; non-G-protein mediated signaling; and the concept of agonist trafficking and receptor dimerisation. 

Discuss the Challenges & Share Knowledge
The program will feature open interactive discussion sessions, special interest groups, and tutorials that enable all participants to network and share their experience and knowledge, as well as the largest vendor exhibition in the industry.

Meet Us in Lille
SBS 2009 will highlight significant and exciting recent advances in the cutting-edge science that underpins the discovery and development of new medicines.  So meet us at the Lille Grand Palais from April  26th - 30th  2009 and make SBS 2009 a success through your participation.