16th Swiss Course on Medicinal Chemistry 2026
Leysin, Switzerland
4.-9. October 2026, Alpine Classic Hotel
16th Swiss Coursee on Medicinal Chemistry 2026
Leysin, Switzerland
Leysin, Switzerland
4.-9. October 2026, Alpine Classic Hotel
Program
16.00
Course check in
18.00
Welcome and Conference Opening Dinner
20.00
Welcome and Introduction into program and tutorials by Gerhard Müller
20.15
Gerhard Müller, SpiroChem
«Personal reflections on this week’s program»
08.00
Mattew LaMarche, Sanofi
«Think Biologically, Act Chemically»
09.00
Andreas Goutopoulos, Actithera
«From Small Molecules to Radioligands: The Medicinal Chemist's Journey into the Design of Radiotherapeutics»
10.00
Coffee Break
10.30
Annelli Nordqvist, AstraZeneca
«AZD2389, a first in class small molecule inhibitor of fibroblast activation protein (FAP)»
11.30
Uwe Grether, Roche
«Discovery of MAGL Inhibitor RG6182: A Holistic Approach Using Modern Tools»
12.30
Lunch
14.30
J. Veerman, ZoBio / M. Carneiro, ZoBio
«Discovery and Optimization of Bromodomain Inhibitors»
K. Ritter, University of Tübingen
«Overcoming Challenges in Medicinal Chemistry (interrupted case studies)»
M. Whittaker, Ebryl Ltd. / M. Mazanetz, NovaData Solutions
«Fragment – Based Lead Generation»
J. Viklund, AstraZeneca
«Fragment and Structure – Based Drug Design»
17.30
Coffee Break
18.00
Maria Duca, Université Côte d'Azur
«Targeting Non-coding RNAs Using Synthetic Small Molecules»
19.00
Tilly Bingham, Cumulus Oncology
«GPCRs, the Druggable Target Class "Gift That Keeps on Giving"!»
20.00
Dinner
08.00
Zoran Rankovic, ICR The Institute for Cancer Research Centre for Protein Degradation
«PROTACS and Molecular Glues»
09.00
Zuzanna Kozicka, EPFL Lausanne
«Molecular Glue Degraders: Fantastic Drugs and Where to Find Them»
10.00
Coffee Break
10.30
Adrian Whitty, Boston University
«Macrocycles and Other «Beyond Rule-of-Five» Chemotypes»
11.30
Gerhard Müller, Spirochem
«From Macrocycles to Drugs:
Expanding the Frontiers of Traditional Medicinal Chemistry»
12.30
Lunch
14.00
Peter Tonge, Stony Brook University
«Kinetic Selectivity – A Missed Opportunity in Drug Discovery?»
15.15
J. Veerman, ZoBio / M. Carneiro, ZoBio
«Discovery and Optimization of Bromodomain Inhibitors»
K. Ritter, University of Tübingen
«Overcoming Challenges in Medicinal Chemistry (interrupted case studies)»
M. Whittaker, Ebryl Ltd. / M. Mazanetz, NovaData Solutions
«Fragment – Based Lead Generation»
J. Viklund, AstraZeneca
«Fragment and Structure – Based Drug Design»
18.00
Special event: Aigle castle
Course dinner
08.00
Jean-Louis Reymond, University of Bern
«Artificial intelligence in early-phase drug discovery»
09.00
Mark Murcko, Disruptive Biomedical LLC.
«Drug Discovery in an Age of Disruption: How Scientists Can Thrive in a Rapidly Changing World»
10.00
Coffee Break
10.30
Edmund Hoppe, Boehringer-Ingelheim
«Relevance and Application of ADME and PK Data 1»
11.30
Edmund Hoppe, Boehringer-Ingelheim
«Relevance and Application of ADME and PK Data 2»
12.30
Lunch or lunch packages for cable car trip
(only if the weather is nice)
12.30
Cable car to La Berneuse
(enjoy the great view, ev. walk downhill to Leysin (approx. 1 ½ h)
17.00
Beat Ernst, University of Basel
«From Sugars to Medicines: The Challenges of Glycan Therapeutics»
18.00
Anna Hirsch, University of Saarland
«Advancing Inhibitors of Unexploited Anti-Infective Targets Through Integration of Translational Biology»
19.00
Dinner
08.00
Jenny Viklund, AstraZeneca
«How We Use AI to Design New Compounds at AstraZeneca»
09.00
Andrew Mortlock, Astellas Pharma
«Medicinal Chemistry and the Battle Against Prostate Cancer»
10.00
Coffee Break
10.30
Chun-wa Chung, GSK R&D
«The Application of Biophysical Methods in Drug Discovery»
11.30
Stephan Theisgen, Senior Scientist, ZoBio
«NMR in Drug Discovery - an Underestimated Biophysics Area»
12.30
Lunch
14.30
J. Veerman, ZoBio / M. Carneiro, ZoBio
«Discovery and Optimization of Bromodomain Inhibitors»
K. Ritter, University of Tübingen
«Overcoming Challenges in Medicinal Chemistry (interrupted case studies)»
M. Whittaker, Ebryl Ltd. / M. Mazanetz, NovaData Solutions
«Fragment – Based Lead Generation»
J. Viklund, AstraZeneca
«Fragment and Structure – Based Drug Design»
17.30
Coffee Break
18.00
Thomas Harth, Ysios Capital
«Look on the small molecule market from the investor perspective + Optimizing ligand-GPCR interactions with mutation activity relationships»
09.00
Henrick Möbitz, Novartis
«Discovery of HRO761, a novel, first-in-class clinical stage WRN inhibitor by structure and property-based design using ab initio conformational analysis»
10.00
Stefan Laufer, University of Tübingen
«Darizmetinib: From Target to Therapy»
11.00
Nicholas Meanwell, Distinguished Professor, The Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, Doylestown, PA Adjunct Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, U. Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI Adjunct Professor, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ Principal, NuArq MedChem Consulting LLC
«Molecular Metaphors in Drug Design & Impact on the Pharmacopeia»
12.00
Gerhard Müller, SpiroChem
concluding remarks
12.15
Lunch and End of the course