There were 115 delegates and eight exhibitors exploring the current challenges and opportunities facing the industry in research and development (R&D), commercialisation and implementation, and the impact on patient outcomes.
This event brought together experts in neurodegenerative diseases from industry and academia to discuss the latest research and challenges, including early diagnosis and detection, treatments of the future, patient perspectives and funding and investment, along with a poster competition to showcase new developments and ongoing research projects.
Bionow welcomed two keynote speakers to share their expertise on the day: Professor Dame Pamela Shaw, Director of the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) at the University of Sheffield, and Eli Lilly’s Associate Vice President, and Head of Proteostasis, Fiona Menzies.
The first keynote examined the journey to develop better neuroprotective therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common form of motor neurone disease (MND). Four key approaches were identified in order to improve ALS prognosis: creating the right research infrastructure; multidisciplinary care and improved symptom management; better sub-classification of ALS into its genetic and molecular subtypes; and new strategies for neuroprotection, such as genetic and small molecule therapies, and orphan drug targets.
The work of Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) was highlighted, with its vision to harness advances in neuroscience and translate these into benefits for patients with ALS and other neurodegenerative conditions, having raised £86m in research funding since opening in 2010, as well as submitting more than 3,300 publications, conducting 235 clinical studies led by their teams, engaging in 23 current commercial partnerships and holding five patents.
The second keynote looked at Eli Lilly’s role in Neuroscience and ALS research, with its focus on identifying, building and developing collaborations with expert scientific communities in the UK and Europe; identifying novel targets for neuroscience drug discovery via genetics and bioinformatics; and being scientific leaders of internal drug discovery projects and teams.
The presentation also identified the accumulation of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) aggregates in the central nervous system as a common feature of neurodegenerative diseases including ALS as a target for research, with causal genes, risk genes and key pathways also being targeted for new therapies.
The winner of the poster competition, with 22 entrants, was Rhiannon Brown with her abstract titled “Stratifying Sporadic Parkinson’s Disease Patients Based on Mitochondrial and Lysosomal Dysfunction”. Congratulations!
The conference included a session with some inspirational patients who shared their perspectives on the day. This session reinforced the reason behind the conference, and why the researchers in the room work so hard and with such passion.
The Bionow Neuroscience Conference will return to Sheffield for its second year on 10 July 2025.