WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19
8:00am Breakout Roundtable Discussions - Breakfast with the Experts
One hour informal focus groups designed to discuss important and challenging topics related to in vivo molecular imaging. This is a moderated discussion with brainstorming and interactive problem solving between scientists from diverse areas, who share a common interest in the discussion topic.
These forums are for open discussion of scientific challenges and not sales opportunities. We emphasize that this roundtable is for an interactive exchange among scientists and is not meant to be, in any way, a corporate or product discussion.
Topics:
- Animal models in imaging
- Multimodal imaging
- The lack of standardized method
- Molecular Imaging in Drug Discovery
9:00 Chairperson’s Keynote Introduction
9:05 Keynote Presentation
In Vivo Molecular Imaging in Translational Sciences
Jeffrey L. Evelhoch, Ph.D., Vice President, Imaging, Merck
9:50 The Importance of Imaging in Drug Discovery
Paul L. Domanico, Ph.D., President, Paul Domanico Consulting, LLC
10:20 Networking Coffee Break
10:50 Spelling Molecular Imaging for the New Grammar of Drug Discovery
Thomas Krucker, Ph.D., Head, Molecular Imaging, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc.
The new grammar of drug discovery1 provides rules for translating the wealth of genomic and proteomic information into targeted medicines with a focus on complex interactions of proteins (i.e. pathways) instead of isolated gene products. This molecular definition allows the causal relationship between the heterogeneity of common disease, its consequences for the choice of targets and the clinical manifestation. In addition, the shift from the typical small molecule to a biologics approach (such as antibodies, recombinant proteins, siRNA) as therapeutic agents creates new opportunities but also raises high expectations for molecular imaging.
1 Fishman and Porter, Nature, 2003
11:20 Integrating Pharmaco-Imaging in The Evaluation of Anti-Cancer Drugs
Xavier Tizon, Ph.D., Head of Imaging Lab, Oncodesign
Preclinical imaging is a key tool in the early stages of drug development. This talk will present our experience in applying different imaging technologies to assess the efficacy of anti-cancer therapies. The main focus will be on angiogenesis imaging using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI), but other examples of imaging biomarkers will be presented. I will address standardization and reproducibility issues in the use of quantitative imaging and describe suggested strategies for the acquisition and analysis of imaging data. I will also show how imaging studies can help in the translation of preclinical results to the clinic, providing tools to optimize treatment dose and schedule, and design combination therapies in oncology.
11:50 The Use of OBOC Combinatorial Library Method to Discover Cancer Cell Surface Targeting Ligands
Kit S. Lam, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chief, Hematology and Oncology, University of California Davis
In one-bead-one-compound (OBOC) combinatorial library method, thousands to millions of chemical compounds can be generated on 90 micron beads such each bead displays only one chemical entity. Live cancer cells can then be used as probes to screen for cell surface binding ligands. Positive beads can be isolated for chemical decoding. Using this method, we have identified ligands against many cancer cell types. Some of these ligands have been developed into high-specificity and high-sensitivity optical or PET imaging probes for these cancers.
12:20pm Lunch on Your Own or Luncheon Workshop
(sponsorship Available)
1:40 Chairperson’s Remarks
1:45 Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Oncology Drug Discovery
Daniel P. Bradley, Ph.D., Scientist II, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company
2:15 in vivo RNA Imaging
JiangHong Rao, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Radiology, Stanford University Medical School
2:45 High-Throughput Anti-Angiogenesis and Acute Toxicity Assays Using Z-Tag Fluorescent Zebrafish Embryos
Timothy Baranowski Ph.D., Director of IT and Automation, Zygogen LLC
Zygogen has developed quantitative in vivo assays utilizing fluorescent Z-Tag zebrafish embryos for high-throughput evaluation of compound efficacy and toxicity in a microplate-based format using standard fluorescence imaging platforms. The Z-Tag Angiogenesis Assay measures angiogenic vessel growth in embryos having fluorescent blood vessels and was used to identify known and novel anti-angiogenic compounds in a pilot screen of the LOPAC1280 compound library. Subsequent collaborations with pharmaceutical partners confirmed that this assay can be readily adopted by non-zebrafish labs and shows excellent inter-laboratory reproducibility. The same fluorescent blood vessel signature that enables angiogenic analysis was used to quantitatively measure the acute toxicity of 37 compounds in the Z-Tag Acute Toxicity Assay, producing results that corresponded well with published rodent LD50 data. These assays offer the potential to predict relative therapeutic windows for investigational compounds and establish the value of zebrafish in vivo safety and toxicity studies in the earlier stages of drug discovery.
3:15 Networking Refreshment Break
3:45 Imaging in Drug Development: Considerations for Bridging from Early to Late Phase Trials
James Paskavitz, M.D., Medical Director, Perceptive Informatics
4:15 End of Imaging Week