ALA Spotlight Series Program—West Coast Embassy Suites San Francisco Airport San Francisco, CA   •   October 4, 2007 Register Now Online Download Form Hotel Information Contact +1.888.733.1ALA (1252) +1.630.390.2233 fax Terms and Conditions 9:30 am Continental Breakfast 9:45 am ALA Welcome & Course Introduction ALA Faculty Advisor Steve Hamilton, Ph.D. 10:00 am Improving Analytics for Pharmaceutical Development—Automation or Predictive Modeling for Solubility Studies—Why Choose? ALA Member Stephen Cypes, Ph.D., Group Leader, Chemical Engineering, Symyx Technologies, Inc. The use of automated, parallel experimentation in the areas of solubility, partition coefficients, and formulation screening can rapidly streamline troubleshooting chemical processes and assist in the development of new methods to increase efficiency. Advances have been made in both predictive solubility models and in automated workflows to study solubility profiles. Rather than scientists choosing one approach over the other, these two techniques can be used in a complementary fashion to refine solubility models, use less compounds in a given study, and be more successful with the experiments than a scientist chooses to run. During the presentation, an emphasis will be placed on the actual workflows with less emphasis on predictive modeling. Featuring: Discussion of effective automation techniques for solubility Comparison of various solubility predictions from various models to experimental results Examples of a large pharma company using these approaches in tandem to perform crystallization studies and to efficiently run solubility studies 11:00 am Fixing it After it's Broken—Using Automated Parallel Reactions and Analysis to Identify and Solve Synthetic Route Problems ALA Member Jess Sager, Senior Field Application Scientist, Symyx Technologies, Inc. Failed batches are a common and unpleasant occurrence in any pilot plant operation. The challenge is to quickly and accurately determine and remedy the cause of these failures without holding up processing. Integrated high-throughput experimentation and analysis can provide a method to quickly evaluate numerous scenarios including work-up methods and material lots. Featuring: Strategies for designing and running parallel sets of experiments Real-life examples of this process in the context of Merck Research Institute 12:00 noon Luncheon Super Session The World Is Flat: Collaborative Science in a Changing Electronic World ALA Member Al Gushurst, Vice President of Product Development, Symyx Technologies, Inc. ALA Member Trish Meek, Director, Product Strategy—Life Science Informatics, Thermo Fisher Scientific An increasing drive toward enterprise-wide R&D informatics is changing the ways in which groups from discovery chemistry and biology to process development and drug formulation work together. Recent approaches are considering this entire space, and integration projects are spanning larger sets of multiple data systems (CDS/LIMS/SDMS/ELN) and wider arrays of laboratory automation implementations. Delve into the use of cross-disciplinary Electronic Laboratory Notebook applications, review systems for integrations between existing data systems across R&D departments and discuss the future for enterprise R&D systems with an architecture that supports the ability to rapidly deploy and manage a highly integrated system. Examine a platform based on open standards and Microsoft .NET technology to integrate these currently disparate, yet tightly linked systems. Attendees will learn how a single technology platform and integration tools, can harmonize and standardize processes across an organization and achieve better collaboration across R&D environment. 2:00 pm Seven Habits of Highly Successful Implementers of High Content Screening (HCS) for Drug Discovery ALA Member Scott Keefer, MBA, Cellular Imaging & Analysis, Thermo Fisher Scientific HCS and HCA are becoming increasingly adopted in drug discovery and academic research. This session reviews the benefits of HCS, the technological basis of HCS, and the practical considerations involved in adopting HCS or HCA. Featuring: HCS vs. HCA and the specific scientific applications that are possible with HCS/HCA Why cell-based assays are important and why imaging is an appropriate approach to this type of discovery The basic principles and approaches of HCS and compelling scientific ROI analysis using HCS 3:00 pm A New Industrial Revolution—Scaling up Cell Culture to Meet the Demands of Modern Discovery ALA Member Joe Zock, Cellular Imaging & Analysis, Thermo Fisher Scientific As cell-based assays become a major component of discovery and research, the need to automate the process of storing, managing, growing and quality checking cells is increasingly important. This session discusses the key considerations in automating cell culture, and preparing cell-based assays to deliver robust, reproducible results. Featuring: Biological considerations when embarking on a cell-based assay project The difference between validating an idea/biology versus ramping up to screen Considerations for screening using HCS including timing, passage number, reagent consumption, etc. 4:00 pm Workshop Adjourns