DRUG DEVELOPMENT AND DIAGNOSTICS MINI-SYMPOSIUM
TRANSLATING MOLECULES TO TREATMENTS II

9.00-9.10 Opening words by Professor Lea Sistonen

9.10-10.00 Thomas Kirkegaard Jensen Orphazyme – From Biology to Bedside

Thomas Kirkegaard Jensen is a PhD and Chief Scientific Officer of Orphazyme ApS in Denmark. Orphazyme develops new therapies for patients suffering from protein-misfolding diseases with no or limited treatment options available. Orphazyme was founded on the initial discovery made by Thomas during his doctoral studies in the laboratory of Professor Marja Jäättelä at the Danish Cancer Society, in which they found that the molecular chaperone, heat shock protein 70, reverts the pathology associated with lysosomal storage diseases. Based on this finding the company develops of new treatments for lysosomal storage diseases.

10.00-10.20 Coffee break

10.20-11.10 Rajwinder Lehal From Cell to Cellestia – Transition of a PhD Project Into a Drug Development Company

Rajwinder Lehal is a PhD and co-founder of Cellestia Biotech AG in Switzerland. The aim of Cellestia Biotech is to develop innovative therapeutics for cancer treatment. At Cellestia Biotech, he is Chief Scientific Officer and serves on the Board of Directors. Cellestia Biotech has developed a targeted therapy designed to treat cancers resulting from a mutation of the Notch gene. Molecule CB-103, discovered by Rajwinder Lehal during his doctoral studies in Professor Freddy Radtke’s laboratory at EPFL, cuts off Notch signals leading to cell death of cancer cells.

11.10-12.00 Mads Daugaard Leveraging Placental Malaria Tropism for Cancer Therapeutic and Diagnostic Applications

Mads Daugaard is an Assistant Professor and group leader at Vancouver Prostate Centre at University of British Columbia and the Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of three biotech companies; VAR2 Pharmaceuticals, OncoMal and VarCT Diagnostics in Canada. Mads is a molecular biologist specialized in tumour-associated stress signaling pathways and tumour targeting systems. His research focuses on alternative polyadenylation of mRNAs, chromatin context-dependent DNA repair, development of resistance to chemotherapy, and immune evasion mechanisms in cancer. Another aspect of Mads’ research relates to discovery and development of novel tumour targeting systems based on parasite-derived recombinant proteins relevant for therapeutic and diagnostic applications in cancer.

12.30-14.00 Round table lunch with speakers
Round table discussions including lunch for students and postdocs in groups of 10 students/postdocs per speaker. The 30 first to register will be admitted.

Register before Friday January 11th  at https://survey.abo.fi/lomakkeet/10837/lomake.html

For more information, contact Annika Meinander, e-mail: annika.meinander@abo.fi