Industry News: 2013 SLAS Asia Conference and Exhibition Educates and Connects Hundreds in Shanghai

The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) welcomed 484 professional scientists, researchers, academics and technology experts to the Society’s Third Annual Asia Conference and Exhibition from June 5-7, 2013. Under the banner of the event theme, “Drug Discovery Science and Laboratory Technology,” the conference delivered three days of in-depth education, new product information and intelligent networking opportunities to attendees who convened at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Shanghai.

“We are extremely pleased with the community participation and level of engagement shown here this week,” said Jeff Paslay, president of SLAS. “From the caliber of the scientific program, the innovation on display in the exhibition, and the open dialogue and exchange of ideas among attendees, this third annual SLAS Asia conference was a great success. I would like to personally commend our Event Committee, led by Chair Bin Li and Associate Chair Shaohui Wang, who assembled this outstanding program, customized for professionals from the Asia-Pac region.”

Three prestigious keynote presenters highlighted the program. The opening keynote, “Nano-flares for the Analysis of Circulating Cancer Cells,” was delivered by Chad A. Mirkin, Ph.D., of Northwestern University in Evanston, IL (USA), on June 6. The second keynote, “Icotnib, the First Target Therapeutic Drug for Cancer in China,” was delivered by Yinxiang Wang, Ph.D., CEO and Chief Scientist Officer (CSO) of Zhejiang Beta Pharma, Inc. on June 7. The closing keynote, Effectively Managing Collaborative Science, was delivered by Jonathan H. Connick, Ph.D., Executive Director and Chair In Vitro Pharmacology Council, Merck & Co, MSD.
Squibb, who earned that distinction at SLAS2013 in January, with her presentation, “Making A Quantum Leap in Mass Spectronomy Throughput: Applying the NextVal MassInsight Technology to Monitor Cytochrome P450 Enzyme Inhibition in Human Liver Microsomes.” Weston re-delivered her award-winning presentation on June 7 in Shanghai.

The conference started June 5 with three highly popular Short Courses:
• High Throughput Screening in Biologics Discovery, presented by Junma Zhou, Ph. D. and Jieying Liu, Ph. D. of Wuxi Apptec
• Cell-based Assay Development in Oncology Drug Discovery by Yuhong Shen, Ph. D. Wuxi Apptec
• Receptor Biology: Correlate in Vitro Potency with in Vivo Efficacy by Siyuan Le, Ph. D., Wuxi Apptec

The 2013 SLAS Asia exhibition featured innovative laboratory technologies from 40 multinational companies. Through this exhibition, attendees were able to compare products, benefit from “hands on” demonstrations, and interact with product experts from top providers who serve the global scientific technology market. Complementing the scientific program was a poster gallery, also located in the exhibition area.

Looking forward, SLAS is committed to serving constituents and growing its community in Asia, and in China in particular. “Serving scientific professionals in China and Asia Pacific is a priority for our Society,” said SLAS President Paslay. “During this event, we’ve held many discussions with Asian-based scientists to better understand how we can deliver the greatest value based on their current - and foreseeable future - needs. Equipped with this insight, later this summer we will be appointing an Asia Council that will have the authority and resources to map out our future strategy for SLAS in China. We will be making announcements on these plans as they become available.”