Keynote Sessions

Developing Oligonucleotides into Therapies: Opportunities and Challenges
Shalini Andersson, Ph.D., Chief Scientist New Therapeutic Modalities and Head of Oligonucleotide Discovery, AstraZeneca

Development of Therapeutics Based on Cyclic Peptides
Christian Heinis, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Laboratory of Therapeutic Peptides and Proteins, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland

CMC Regulatory Considerations for Oligonucleotides and Peptides: Similarities and Differences
René Thürmer, Ph.D., Deputy Head, Unit Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, BfArM Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, Germany (Invited) 

Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Development
Karina Thorn, Ph.D., Vice President of Portfolio, Strategy and Partnerships Biopharm, Novo Nordisk, Denmark

mRNA Development and Manufacturing
Ulrich Blaschke, Ph.D., Vice President, Technical Development, BioNTech AG

Peptide Sessions

Access to Novel and Established Peptide & Protein Therapeutics
Christian Becker, Ph.D., Professor and Head of the Institute of Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna

The Application of Peptide Chemistry Techniques in the Manufacture of Radionuclide Therapy Products
Steven McIntyre, Peptide Process Development Department Manager, Almac Group, United Kingdom

Peptide Drug Product Strategies
Umberto Romeo, R&D Manager, Corden Pharma Caponago, Italy 

Refractive Index: The Ultimate Tool for Real-Time Monitoring of Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis. Greening the Process
Beatriz de la Torre, Ph.D., Research Professor, Laboratory of Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal 

Synthesis and Genetically-encoded Discovery of Macrocyclic Inhibitors with Unnatural Chemotypes
Ratmir Derda, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Canada

Gate2Brain, Opening the Gate for Treatment of CNS Diseases
Meritxell Teixidó, Ph.D., CEO and CSO, Gate2Brain, Spain

mRNA and Genome Editing Sessions

mRNA Therapeutics and Vaccines
Julia Schlereth, Director RNA Analytics, BioNTech 

Programming mRNA for Cancer Immunotherapy
Tasuku Kitada, Ph.D., President and Head of R&D, Strand Therapeutics 

Apolipoprotein E Binding Drives Structural and Compositional Changes of mRNA Containing Lipid Nanoparticles
Marianna Yanez Arteta, Ph.D., Associate Principal Scientist, Pharmaceutical Science, Advanced Drug Delivery, AstraZeneca, Sweden

A Novel Vaccine Approach Using Messenger RNA‐Lipid Nanoparticles: Preclinical and Clinical Perspective
Ying Tam, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Acuitas Therapeutics, Inc.

IND-enabling Small Scale Guide RNA Production Under GMP for CRISPR Based Cell Therapies
Keith Jarvis, Senior Director, Process Chemistry, Editas Medicine 

Control Strategies for Early Clinical Phase mRNA Projects
Eivor Örnskov, Ph.D., Associate Principal Scientist, Pharmaceutical Sciences, AstraZeneca, Sweden

mRNA Session Chair
Nicole Roth, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, CureVac AG, Germany

Oligonucleotide CMC Sessions

Green Oligonucleotide Manufacturing
Louis Diorazio, Ph.D., Principal Scientist, Chemical Development, AstraZeneca, United Kingdom

On Demand Synthesis of Oligonucleotides
Kurt Vesterager Gothelf, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Chemistry and iNANO, Aarhus University, Denmark 

Advances in Oligonucleotide Manufacturing
Martin Eastgate, Ph.D, Executive Director, Chemical Process Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb

Preparation of Well-defined Protein-DNA Conjugates
Ralf Strasser, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer, Dynamic Biosensors, Germany 

Blockmers for Assembly of Oligonucleotides
Sabine Muller, Ph.D., Full Professor for Biochemistry, University of Greifswald 

Influence of Process Parameters on the Formulation of Nucleic Acids in Lipid Nanoparticles
Anna Pratsinis, Ph.D., Scientist Drug Delivery and Preformulation Sciences, pPED, Roche Innovation Center Basel, Switzerland

The Evolution of Regulation for Oligonucleotide Therapeutics: Regulatory Agency Perspectives
René Thürmer, Ph.D., Deputy Head, Unit Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, BfArM Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, Germany (Invited)

Oligonucleotide Discovery, Preclinical and Clinical Sessions

Targeted Augmentation of Nuclear Gene Output (TANGO) Technology for Development of STK-001, for the Treatment of Dravet Syndrome
Meena, Ph.D., Vice President of Bioanalytical, DMPK and Biomarker Development, Stoke Therapeutics

miRNA Targeted Therapeutic Approach in Musculoskeletal Diseases
Hermann-Josef Kaiser, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Sirana Pharma GmbH, Germany

Preclinical Oligonucleotide Case Study
Kalyan Dulla, Ph.D., Senior Ophthalmology Non-clinical Research Director, ProQR Therapeutics, The Netherlands 

INT-1B3 (miR-193a-3p mimic) Preclinical Development: Translational Medicine Perspectives for Advanced Cancer Patients
Michel Janicot, Ph.D., Chief Development Officer, InteRNA Technologies BV, The Netherlands

Discovery and Development of Stereopure Oligonucleotides for Treatment of Genetically Defined Neurological Diseases
Michael Panzara, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Wave Life Sciences, USA

Antisense Oligonucleotides Targeting the Angiotensinogen: A Novel Therapeutic Approach in the Cardiovascular Space
Michela Brambatti, M.D., Associate Director, Clinical Development, Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Clinical Development of RNA-based Therapies: Challenges of ION-682884
Gustavo Buchele, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Director, Clinical Development, Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Analyzing the Determinants of ASO Activity Using Multi-specific ASOs
Frank Jaschinski, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Secarna Pharmaceuticals, Germany

Novel Dual Targeting siRNA Therapeutic Offers Innovative Solution for Derm-Oncology Treatment
David Evans, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Sirnaomics

A Novel Access to Tritium Labelled Oligonucleotides
Martin Edelmann, Senior Scientist, Therapeutic Modalities, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Switzerland 

Pulmonary Delivery of siRNA Against Respiratory Virus Infections
Olivia Merkel, Ph.D., Professor of Drug Delivery, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany

Development of Spherical Nucleic Acids Targeting SCN9A For the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain
Eric Buss, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Neuroscience R&D, Exicure, Inc.

Anti-fibrotic Therapies Targeting Long Non-Coding RNAs
Samir Ounzain, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer & Scientific Co-Founder, Haya Therapeutics, Switzerland

Targeting ANGPTL4 in the Liver with ASO – A Novel Treatment for Cardiometabolic Disease
Stefan Nilsson, Ph.D., CEO, Lipigon Pharmaceuticals AB, Sweden

Clinical Development of ApTOLL, An Aptamer for the Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke
Macarena Hernández-Jiménez, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, aptaTargets S.L., Spain

BT200, A Novel von Willebrand Factor (vWF) Binding Aptamer for Bleeding Disorders
Shuhao Zhu, Co Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Guardian Therapeutics 

An Antisense Oligonucleotide-mediated Therapeutic Approach for the Treatment of Centronuclear Myopathies
Frédéric Legros, Chief Operating Officer, Dynacure, France

Post-Conference Workshop Sessions

*AM Workshop #1: Regulatory CMC Considerations for Oligonucleotides under Accelerated Development and Review

Workshop Moderator:  

Nicole del Canto, Director, Global Regulatory CMC, Biogen

Workshop Speakers:

• Gair Ford, Regulatory CMC Director, Astrazeneca
• Chris Chorley, Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs, Global CMC, Biogen
• Christian Wetter, RA CMC Director, Roche
• Jennifer Franklin, Director, CMC Regulatory Affairs, Ionis Pharmaceuticals
  
  

*AM Workshop #2: Best Practices in Peptide Drug Development

Workshop Moderator:

Bruce Morimoto, Ph.D., Vice President, Cerecin

*PM Workshop #3: Managing CMC Activities for Complex and Emerging Oligonucleotide Therapeutics

Workshop Moderator:

Thomas Rupp, Owner and Principal, Thomas Rupp Consulting AG, Germany

*PM Workshop 4: Analytical Strategies for Oligonucleotides, Peptides and mRNA Products

Workshop Moderator:

TBD