Industry News: ELRIG Announces Free Companion Diagnostics Conference

Companion diagnostics is big news in the clinical diagnostics community. Companion diagnostic tests aim to identify subpopulations of patients who will benefit particularly from a specific treatment, or who shouldn’t receive a particular treatment because it will be ineffective. A number of therapeutic devices have been developed recently which actually depend on the use of a companion diagnostic test.

Companion diagnostics are making the concept of ‘personalized medicine’ become a reality, allowing clinicians to identify patients who are most likely to respond, or not, to a particular therapy option.

The European Laboratory Robotics Interest Group (ELRIG) is hosting a free conference on the 1st May 2012, highlighting state-of-the-art scientific research and technologies, enabling the provision of tools for the development of companion diagnostics.

Heightened regulatory approval pressure means that there is a need for a practical method of assessing the effective performance of a treatment; and companion diagnostics are playing an increasingly critical role in the development of new therapeutic agents. As a result, research into key diagnostic technologies has become a hot topic, especially areas such as biomarkers, assay development and detection techniques. This has naturally led to the need to conduct diagnostic research in parallel with the early stages of drug discovery.

The ELRIG conference, entitled Companion Diagnostics – from Early Drug Discovery to Clinical Applications, will enable attendees to meet over 200 key decision makers involved in this innovative field of technology. Delegates can learn about the latest developments taking place as well as gaining insight into the UK positioning in the global marketplace. There is an exciting line-up of speakers and a comprehensive exhibition accompanies the event.

For more information visit our events section, or click on the company website link below to register and attend the conference free of charge.