TUESDAY, JANUARY 21 | 5:45 - 8:45 PM

Aqua 303

SC2: The Safety of Immunotherapy and ADCs: How to Mitigate Risk and Adverse Effects - Detailed Agenda

This short course examines safety issues surrounding immunotherapies and particularly Antibody-Drug Conjugates in an intimate setting with two of the world’s leading ADC experts. Following a review of current cancer immunotherapies in development, including CAR T cells, CD-3 T cell-based bispecifics, and immune checkpoint inhibitors and agonists, the safety of ADCs will be explored in depth. ADC design and translational strategies for safety risk mitigation will be discussed, along with conjugation, payload, and engineering impacts on the therapeutic window.

Instructors:

Rakesh Dixit, PhD, DABT, President & CEO, Bionavigen, LLC

Stephanie Voss, PhD, Group Leader, Bioconjugation & Protein Chemistry, Heidelberg Pharma Research GmbH

Aqua 310A

SC3: Structure-Based Optimization of Antibodies - Detailed Agenda

This 3-hour course offers a quick overview of the concepts, strategies, and tools of structure-based optimization of antibodies. This lecture will cover structure-based techniques to modulate affinity, create novel constructs (such as Fc-fusions, bispecifics, etc.), along with increasing the manufacturability of a biologic. The class is directed at scientists new to the industry, academic scientists, and career protein engineers wanting a quick overview about how structure can aid in guiding experimental design.

Instructor:

Traian Sulea, PhD, Principal Research Officer, Human Health Therapeutics, Biotechnology Research Institute, National Research Council Canada

Aqua 300A

SC5: Protein Aggregation: Mechanism, Characterization, and Consequences - Detailed Agenda

Protein aggregation is recognized by regulatory agencies and the biopharmaceutical industry as a key quality attribute of biotherapeutics. Various aggregates hold the potential for adversely impacting production and patients in a variety of ways. This in-depth course reviews the origins and consequences of aggregation in biotherapeutics, and then examines strategies for predicting and quantifying aggregation in biopharmaceuticals. It benefits scientists engaged in the development, production, analytical characterization, and approval of biotherapeutics, and those who require a good working knowledge of protein aggregation.

Instructors:

Thomas Laue, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Director, Biomolecular Interaction Technologies Center (BITC), University of New Hampshire

Kevin Mattison, PhD, Principal Scientist, Malvern Pananalytical, Inc.

Aqua 310B

SC6: Assembling an Effective Toolbox of Expression Systems to Support Your Drug Discovery Efforts - Detailed Agenda

This course will discuss the systems necessary to support the expression of both traditional (mAbs) and next-generation formats of proteins to support all aspects of drug discovery. This includes therapeutic candidates, assay reagents, immunogens, and proteins for structural studies.

Instructors:

Richard Altman, Field Application Scientist, Protein Expression, Biosciences Division, Life Science Solutions, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Henry Chiou, PhD, Director, Cell Biology, Life Science Solutions, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Dominic Esposito, PhD, Director, Protein Expression Laboratory, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research

*Separate registration required for short courses