Creative Disruption Forum -How Tech is Changing Small Molecule Drug Hunting

The Creative Disruption Forums (CDFs) are a unique discussion Fora run by Prof Tony Sedgwick and Graham Combe. Tony and Graham have been running thought-leadership forums together now for 8 years, both face-to-face and online. The Creative Disruption Forums were started on 22 May 2024 in London, and we have since run these on the 13 June in Cambridge and then 10 July in Oxford with this next one being on the 8 October again back in Oxford.

Our objective going forward is to run these CDFs 9-10 months of the year in different regions of the UK on different topics. We have another planned on 25 November in Manchester, and more to be lined up in London and Cambridge in the last quarter of the year. This CDF is on the 8 October in Central Oxford, a 5-10 min walk from Oxford Train Station and plenty of parking space for those driving, so we hope to get attendance from around the UK. The CDFs are predominately attended by CXOs and R&D Directors of Innovation Companies (60-70%), then Service Companies (20-30%) and Investors (5-10%).

We are getting lots of fantastic feedback about our new format. Here are some of the comments I have seen about our CDFs on LinkedIn:

"These #creativedisruption events are a genuine and wonderful exchange of ideas. An elegantly crafted format by Tony Sedgwick and Graham Combe." - Prashant Shah, Managing Partner, O2h Group and CEO of O2h Discovery.

"So pleased to represent Sitryx at the fantastic #creativedisruption forum. As always, Tony Sedgwick challenged us to think about how we do #drugdiscovery and what opportunities we see in the future." - Jon Ellery, Director of Biology, Sitryx"

Being creatively disruptive with such a great group of people made for a great event." - Suzy Dilly, CEO, Valirx Plc.

Creative Disruption Forum - On how Tech is changing Small Molecule Drug Hunting on 8 October 2024 - made for business leaders and R&D directors of innovation companies.

With Special guest speakers Richard Law, CBO, Exscientia; Matthew Fyfe, SVP, Storm Tx; Jon Ellery, Head of Biology, Sitryx Tx and Michael Dabrowski, CEO, Pelago Biosciences AB. This is a high-quality full-day event for only 60 business & R&D leaders in an intimate setting conducted under Chatham House Rules.

Is this Creative Disruption Forum Right for me?

• Are you an R&D or Business leader in a Small Molecule Biotech or an investor?
• Are you looking to learn from and share experiences with your peers and experienced industry professionals?
• Would you like to participate in informative, engaging and fun thought-leadership discussions and Creative Disruption workshops under Chatham House Rules?
• Are you looking to expand your peer-to-peer network?
• Can you get to Inventa, Botley Road, Oxford OX2 OHA on Tuesday 8 October from 10 am - 5.30 pm?

If your answer is yes to these questions, then this #CreativeDisruption Forum is for you.

To be discussed:

How to make your biotech company more investable and accelerate the journey from lab to market:

In a highly competitive environment, we always look for a new angle, something fresh that others have yet to see. We will discuss the significant creative innovations and technologies that make a great small molecule biotech company great. Is it the idea, the science, the execution, the team, the technology they use, the manufacturing method, the drug delivery or the cost to payers? Is it the long-term plan towards marketing? Does it solve a severe unmet medical need? What is the probability of failure or profitability? Does it have a strong IP? Or is it the management that will ultimately bring the investment? What is the “creative disruption“ flair they have? Do they dare to stand out as Leaders?

To spark new thoughts and ideas and build friendships

As organisers, we promise always to entertain, engage, inform and be interactive during our thought-leadership interviews and Creative Disruption workshops. This is to help you spark new thoughts and ideas and build friendships with peers.

How do you benefit from attending?

As a "Leader" in the biotech sector, you will benefit from this "Creative Disruption Forum," which allows you to share common challenges and build deeper connections and trust with your peers. In turn, the aim is to build your confidence when working in areas typically outside your comfort zone by learning and discussing with this / your "Agile" peer-to-peer network.

You can broaden your understanding of the key aspects of the commercialisation journey and how to overcome potential barriers. You can speak to people in a similar position about issues you may not have the opportunity to discuss elsewhere. You address your challenges by learning from other people's experiences to help you find a solution or spark an idea. Why let leaders of emerging companies reinvent the wheel to be successful when we can learn from the experiences of others who have faced similar challenges before?

Chatham House Rules apply - "what goes on in the Forum, stays in the Forum - so to speak!"

Our mission is to help you build your innovation-enabled healthcare business so it is "fit for purpose," genuinely innovative and attractive to the global markets. Helping you build solid, trustworthy networks with your peer group and help spread your creative R&D business network nationally and internationally. Our motivation and focus are on helping you build long-term reliable business relationships and support you on your journey through our supportive business community.

Prof Tony Sedgwick, the self-professed www.ThoughtDisruptor.com, facilitates this workshop. Tony has an esteemed career in academia and business; he is a trained pathologist. His accolades include being the Global Head of Clinical Research at Roche AG for 10+ years, being a VC and being one of the UK's first Biotech CEOs. Tony has now been CEO of four life science companies, Chairman of over 10 Companies, and held many positions within the academic community. He is also an active psychologist, which has helped him develop his passion for "Agile" community group development. He is a Jiu-Jitsu Grand Master VIII and Jiu-Jitsu trainer. Last year, Tony published the book "The Mighty Advisor", which became a number 1 best seller in the Amazon STEM Business Management category. Tony's latest endevours outside life sciences have been stand-up comedy and acting lessons, which he believes will help him with his event moderating strategy in biotech going forward (that's what he tells Graham, anyway ... hmmm).

We will start this Creative Disruption Forum on Tuesday 8 October, with a 10.00 am arrival (with a prompt 10.30 am start with interviews of prominent thought-leaders; see agenda below for more details).

We promise that our #CreativeDisruption Forum will be unlike any other life sciences workshop or business network you have experienced. You will walk out of the session inspired, educated, and more connected.

The Agenda in Summary

10-10.30 am arrival with coffee & teas, biscuits & fruit

10.30-10.35 - Introduction by Prof Tony Sedgwick

10.35-10.45 - Intro about Mission Street, Gabriel Rudert - Host sponsor

10.45-11.00 - Introductions to James Fry, Mills & Reeve and Mariana Vaschetto, CDD Vault our supporting sponsors.

11.00-11.20 am - Keynote interview with Richard Law, CBO Exscientia

11.20-11.40 am- Keynote Interview with Michael Dabrowski, CEO Pelago Bioscience AB

11.40-12.00 pm - Keynote Interview, Jon Ellery, Scientific Director, Sitryx Tx

12.00-12.20 pm - coffee & tea break

12.20 - 12.40 pm - Keynote Interview, Matthew Fyfe, SVP, Storm Tx

12.40 - 1.00 pm - Keynote Interview - TBC

1.00 - 1.30 pm - Panel Discussion - Matthew, Jon, Michael and Richard TBC

1.30-2.30 pm - light lunch with coffee + refreshments

2.30-2.45 pm - Workshop Introductions and Arrangements

2.45 - 3.30 pm - 6-8 Workshops on different topics

3.30-4.00 pm - coffee & tea break

4.00- 5.00 pm - Group Leader Workshop Presentations

5,00 - 5.30 pm - Round-up of the day's learnings

5.30 pm - End

GENERAL ADMISSION FEE = £95 - ALL-INCLUSIVE

Investors can apply for free entry by writing to [email protected].

Thank you to our sponsors Mission Street, CDD Vault, Pelago Bioscience and Mills & Reeve for your kind support.

6-9 pm - Unofficial Drinks will happen in the Oxford Retreat public house for those who fancy a drink afterwards.

Company: Pelago Bioscience

Senior Management Team: Michael Dabrowski, founder and CEO; Daniel Martinez-Molina, founder and CSO; Kia Pedersen, COO. Company founded: 2013

Type: CRO/Service Provider for cellular based target engagement technologies

Location: Stockholm, Sweden Size: 53 employees Mission: All drug discovery projects should know their target(s) before entering clinical trials.

Key technology:Pelago Bioscience is a CRO that supports drug discovery, with expertise in target engagement in biologically relevant settings. Pelago Bioscience’s patented core technology, CETSA®(Cellular Thermal Shift Assay), provides confidence for early decision-making in all stages of the drug discovery pipeline.CETSA applications holds solutions from confirming target engagement and strengthening target validation, to hit generation for targets that are difficult to drug, selectivity profiling and elucidating the mechanism of action of compounds. CETSA enables greater understanding of how drugs perturb the biology in relevant models. Pelago’s extended team provide you with the insights you need to progress the right assets in your drug discovery pipeline.

Mills & Reeve is a Supporting Sponsors of this event. They are lawyers with one of the largest full-service life sciences teams in the UK. Renowned lawyers with extensive expertise in the industry will provide the solutions to enable you to seize the opportunities open to you.

Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD) provides an intuitive software suite extensively used by creative biologists and chemists working in academic, biotechnology and pharmaceutical settings. Their flagship product, CDD Vault, enables researchers to intuitively organize and analyze both biological and chemical data, and to collaborate with partners through a straightforward web interface. CDD helps scientists register entities, track inventory, manage assay data, capture experiments, calculate Structure-Activity Relationships (SAR), and mine their data for drug candidates. CDD was founded in 2004 and presently serves thousands of researchers doing drug discovery all around the world. Learn more at www.collaborativedrug.com

Host or Publisher Graham Combe