CICC I&TWG Webinar "Virtual Lab: Drug Discovery in Silico" - 27th August

Molecular simulations, based on physical principles, are powerful and widely used techniques in biological fields. The ability of predicting behavior of molecules and their interactions is unparalleled in even the most precise experiments. Even though time and size scale accessible to simulations are still limited, continuously increasing computing power and improvement in algorithms are expanding their possible field of application. Such technology, combined with recent developments in the machine learning field, has the potential to lead to a revolution in the drug discovery field.

During this webinar, we will present recent results obtained in the context of a research collaboration between labs in Shanghaitech University and Guangzhou University. In particular, we will focus on how we can use computer simulations and machine learning to optimize a candidate drug molecule (small molecule or antibody) to improve its biochemical properties and thus increase its chance to become a real drug. The possibility to completely delegate the process of drug optimization to computer simulation, even if it can apparently be seen as a narrow scope, is in fact of utmost importance. On one hand it is an important reduction in time and resources costs along the drug development procedure, on the other hand it is the first step to reach the ability of designing new molecules, which still do not exist, without any prior experimental knowledge.

Recommended audience: Corporate C-levels (e.g., CEOs, CFOs, etc.), Managers BioTech, HealthTech, pharma, companies, investors.