INDUSTRY

The University of Surrey and IDBS, a leading provider of software and services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, will host the UK QSAR and Chemoinformatics Group meeting on April 14th 2005 at the University of Surrey. Leading scientists in the field of Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship analysis (QSAR) will speak at the conference. QSAR involves using statistical techniques to analyse chemical and biological data in order to predict the effects of compounds on biological systems. QSAR offers benefits in both drug discovery and environmental research. Part of the meeting will be dedicated to debating the validation of QSAR models and methods for applicability domain estimation - among the hottest topics in QSAR today. Neil Kipling, Chairman and CEO of IDBS commented: "The development of robust computational techniques to support drug creation is of paramount importance if the pharmaceutical industry is to reduce the overall costs of drug development and bring more medicines to market faster." He continued: "IDBS is proud to be working with the University of Surrey and the UK QSAR and Chemoinformatics Group to bring together this prestigious group of scientists to share expertise in order to advance this exciting field of research." Brendan Howlin, Senior Lecturer in Computational Chemistry at the University of Surrey commented, "The choice of the University of Surrey for this event reflects the Chemistry Division's strong research and teaching activities in all aspects of computational pharmaceutical research. We run the UK's longest standing MChem degree course in Computer Aided Chemistry, teaching chemoinformatics at undergraduate level and are carrying out research into QSAR and chemoinformatics jointly sponsored by the EPSRC and IDBS." Prior to the conference, IDBS will host an open day at its offices on the Surrey Research Park to showcase its technologies and services. Delegates will attend workshops and see how IDBS' PredictionBase suite puts the benefits of in silico prediction in the hands of bench scientists, which aids the development of effective medicines. Full details of the UK QSAR and Chemoinformatics Group meeting and the IDBS technology open day, including online registration, are available at: http://www.ukqsar2005.com/ About the UK QSAR and Chemoinformatics Group The UK QSAR & Chemoinformatics Group meets twice yearly at venues throughout the country providing a regular, simple and effective means to communicate developments in the field. Participating organisations sponsor the meetings that are frequented by up to 150 delegates from academia, commerce and industry. Previous hosts include Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly. The Group now has nearly 300 members. Its interests encompass methods development and applications in areas such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, cosmetics and detergents. To cater for this diversity, the one-day meetings adopt a blend of theme-based and miscellaneous presentations. Themes so far have included Quantifying Drug Design, Property Prediction and Measurement, Library Design, Data Analysis and Lead Finding. Speakers are very largely drawn from the recognised leaders in the field, and students also find they are able to share their findings in a friendly and constructive environment. Sponsoring hosts find the meetings effective at enhancing awareness of their research activities while promoting the scientific profile of their organisations. Membership of the UK QSAR and Chemoinformatics Group is complimentary and open to all with an interest in the field. To join, simply e-mail a request to Peter Gedeck (peter.gedeck@pharma.novartis.com). Non-members are welcome to attend the conference on 14th April. The Group continually seeks to extend its interests and will be pleased to consider suggestions for future activities. Slides from previous meetings are posted at the Group website: http://www.iainm.demon.co.uk/indexnew.htm