Epigenetics and the pharma industry: same old, same old or Brave New World?

Date:        Thursday, 24th April, 2014
Time:        16.00 - 17.00
Venue:      Room LG08, Canynge Hall, 39 Whatley Road, Bristol, BS8 2PS

Abstract

Dysregulation of epigenetic control of gene expression is emerging as a new cause of pathology across a range of disorders. This in turn has sparked a huge amount of investment in drug discovery in the biotech and pharma sectors, to create small molecule modulators of target epigenetic proteins. But will a new field of biology need an new approach to drug discovery, or is it business as usual? Are there specific issues with this area, such as the potential for transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, which will impact on drug pipelines, and could this even create a new collaborative approach to generating new drugs for unmet medical needs?

Professor Nessa Carey

Nessa Carey is a Senior Director at Pfizer, where she focuses on identifying new collaborative opportunities in the field of epigenetics. Prior to joining Pfizer in 2011, Nessa worked for ten years in the biotech sector, specialising in epigenetic drug discovery for eight of those. She is a former academic at Imperial College, London where she now holds a Visiting Chair. Nessa is the author of the popular science book The Epigenetics Revolution.

ALL WELCOME