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Symposium highlights
These articles highlight the main topics and discussion points from each Symposium session.
Articles marked with the microscope logo  are focused on specialized aspects of the topic, and are intended for a readership well-versed in the background literature.
Articles marked with binoculars  take an overview of the topic, and aim particularly to make the subject accessible to a broad audience. |
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Session 1: The nature of chemical and biological diversity
The process of biological evolution has involved the exploitation of the laws of physics and principles of chemistry for competitive advantage. What is the extent to which the range of chemistry that we know about today through laboratory experiments has been selected for use by biological systems.
 Don't know much biology |
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| Session 3: Where have our explorations taken us so far?
Despite exploring further into chemical space than ever before, less innovative drugs appear to be emerging from the drug discovery and development pipeline. This could be due to many possibilities: we could be running out of biological targets; companies are becoming less 'innovative' in their search for therapeutic compounds; and chemistry quality is having less of an impact on biological activity as was thought. All these highly contentious topics were discussed in this session.
How academia can help drug discovery
(originally appeared in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery)
Where have all the targets gone?
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| Session 4: Learning from nature
Molecules from nature have been identified and developed as drugs in several therapeutic areas. Are there any lessons to be learned from the structures of natural products that could help improve strategies in synthetic chemistry?
 Returning to nature?
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| Session 5: New technologies for small molecule synthesis
To extend searches in chemical space requires the development of technologies that can address different aspects of synthesis, including speed, purity and stereochemistry. Current and emerging technologies for small-molecule synthesis, as well as their limitations, were discussed.
Knowing your left from your right
Expanding the toolkit
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| Session 7: In silico discovery of biologically active molecules
The ability to synthesize small molecules in greater numbers and greater diversity than ever before requires an increased reliance on computer-based methods to help identify what to synthesize and test next. How can computer-based methods help and how can we overcome the current barriers to expanding their use?
I fought the law, but the law won
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