10th RSC-BMCS Fragment-based Drug Discovery Meeting
Event
10th RSC-BMCS Fragment-based Drug Discovery Meeting
Dates
Monday 14th September, 2026 – Wednesday 16th September, 2026
Place
Churchill College, Cambridge, UK
Important links
Social media hashtag – #Fragments26
To submit your Abstract, click here
To register, click here
To Sponsor, click here
Bursary application form, click here
First Announcement Poster, click here
Synopsis
The aim of the 10th RSC-BMCS Fragment-based Drug Discovery meeting will be to continue the focus on case studies in Fragment-based Drug Discovery that have delivered compounds to late stage medicinal chemistry, preclinical or clinical programmes. The Fragment series was started in 2007 and continues with this theme in having over three-quarters of the presentations focused on case studies. This will be complemented by technology progress in high concentration, NMR, SPR and X-ray screening.
Programme
| Registration | |
|---|---|
| 14:00 | Opening Remarks Alison Woolford, Astex Pharmaceuticals |
| 14:00 - 15:50 | Session 1 Session Chair: Alison Woolford, Astex Pharmaceuticals |
| 14:10 - 14:50 | Fragments from the GDB Chemical Space Jean - Louis Reymond, ETH Switzerland, |
| 14:50 - 15:20 | Fragment-based discovery of potent and selective bridged-bicyclic CDK7 inhibitors Charlie Griffiths-Jones, Astex |
| 15:20 - 15:50 | Why and how to dock fragments into RNA? - Synthon-based gigascale virtual screening against the SAM-I-riboswitch Christian Kersten, Johannes Gutenberg-University |
| 15:50 - 16:30 | Refreshments |
| 16:30 - 17:30 | Session 2 Session Chair: Chris Swain, Cambridge MedChem Consulting |
| 16:30 - 17:00 | Tuning the open-close equilibrium of Cereblon with small molecules influences protein degradation Suzanne O’Connor, University of Dundee |
| 17:00 - 17:30 | Ailsa Powell, XChem/DIAMOND |
| 17:30 - 18:00 | Flash Posters |
| 18:00 - 19:00 | Networking/Drinks in Marquee/Exhibition |
| 19:00 | Buffet Dinner |
| Registration and Refreshments | |
|---|---|
| 09:00 - 10:40 | Session 3 Session Chair: Emma Grant, GSK |
| 09:00 - 09:40 | Lysine targeting covalent fragment approaches against challenging drug targets György M. Keserű, Hungarian Academy of Sciences |
| 09:40 - 10:10 | HARMing a Cryptic Pocket: AI Co-folding and FBDD to Deliver Covalent WRN Helicase Inhibitors Geoffrey Smith, Boltz, previously at CHARM Therapeutics |
| 10:10 - 10:40 | Advancing BFL1-Selective Inhibitors: From Discovery to Optimization Andrea Gohlke, AstraZeneca |
| 10:40 - 11:20 | Refreshments |
| 11:20 - 12:20 | Session 4 Chair: Gordon Saxty, NS-MC Consulting LTD |
| 11:20 - 11:50 | A 25-year fragment journey – the good, the bad and the potential to put the I into AI approaches using lipophilic hotspots and water networks Jonathan Mason, Design for Structure |
| 11:50 - 12:20 | Flash Poster Presenters |
| 12:20 - 14:30 | Lunch and Poster Session / Exhibition |
| 14:30 - 16:00 | Session 5 Chair: Iva Lukac |
| 14:30 - 15:00 | Fragment-based discovery of inhibitors of DHX8, an RNA helicase involved in mRNA splicing Rob Van Montfort, ICR |
| 15:00 - 15:30 | Expanding the Chemical Tractability of Human Proteome Christopher Parker, Scripps Research Institute |
| 15:30 - 16:00 | Leveraging fragments for orphan nuclear receptor ligand design Daniel Merk, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität |
| 16:00 - 16:30 | Refreshments |
| 16:30 - 17:30 | Session 6 Chair: Marianne Schimpl, AstraZeneca |
| 16:30 - 17:00 | Towards Smarter FBDD: Harnessing Structure, AI and Physics Paul Mortenson, Astex |
| 17:00 - 17:30 | Panel Discussion |
| 17:30 | End of Session |
| 18:30 | Conference Dinner (walk to St Johns) |
| Registration | |
|---|---|
| 09:30 - 11:30 | Session 7 Chair: Mary Wheldon, University of Dundee |
| 09:30 - 10:00 | Fragment-based discovery of ligands targeting MITF, a bHLH transcription factor Goran Malojcic, Novartis |
| 10:00 - 10:30 | Fragment evolution via direct to biophysics: Identification of selective inhibitors of a CNS protease Constance Agamasu, Vernalis |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Fast and Reliable NMR-Based Fragment Scoring for Drug Discovery Ken Cameron, Cancer Research Horizons |
| 11:00 - 11:30 | Late Breaker 1 |
| 11:30 - 13:30 | Lunch and Poster Session / Exhibition |
| 13:30 - 15:30 | Session 8 Chair: Mike Hann |
| 13:30 - 14:00 | Proteome-Scale Covalent Ligand Discovery Through Chemoproteomics and Machine Learning Jacob Bush, GSK |
| 14:00 - 14:30 | Crystallographic fragment screening against JUNO, a prominent non-hormonal contraception target Martina Schaefer, Nuvisa |
| 14:30 - 15:30 | Applying artificial and human intelligence to covalent fragment-based drug discovery (CFBDD) Dan Erlanson, Frontier |
| 15:30 | Closing Remarks Mike Hann |
Who should attend
This conference is suitable for scientists including chemists, biophysicists, structural biologists, etc., with either existing experience of fragments or wanting to learn about this exciting approach to drug discovery. This international meeting attracts delegates from the UK, several mainland European counties, as well as from the USA, Japan, China and South Korea.
Want to become a member?
To join the RSC in order to qualify for discounted registration fees at all RSC, please follow this RSC link.
Bursaries
The RSC-BMCS are offering a small number of bursaries to attend the meeting in person. Applications are open to PhD and post-doctoral applicants studying at academic institutions or non-profit institutions. Preference will be given to members of the RSC-BMCS. Bursary applications are also invited from RSC or EFMC members who are of working age, but currently unemployed, and from those who may have difficulty in funding themselves or whose organisations may have difficulty in funding their attendance.
Please click here for the bursary application form. All applications should be sent to events@hg3.co.uk by Friday 24th July 2026.
Registration
Please click here to register.
RSC Member: £440
Non-Member: £540
RSC Student Member (undergraduate and post-graduate): £205
Student Non-Member (undergraduate and post-graduate): £270
Call for Abstracts
Abstract submission is now open, to submit your Abstract, click here.
Sponsorship/ Exhibitor Opportunities
Opportunities to sponsor or exhibit at the meeting are now open, please click here to book. If you have any questions around sponsorship or exhibition, please contact events@hg3.co.uk
Exhibition Package includes (£1,500)
– One stand personnel with access to all technical sessions
– Stand space: 3m wide x 2m deep
– Table: 240cm wide x 80cm deep, plus one chair
– Electrical and Wi-Fi access
– Logo and full promotional page in the delegate handbook (PDF version)
– Logo featured in the rolling slides displayed during breaks
Email blast includes (£250)
One promotional email sent to meeting delegates on your chosen date prior to the meeting. There are a number of dates available.
Poster listing
Poster listing will be open soon, check back for further details.
Organising Committee
Emma Grant, GSK
Mike Hann
Iva Lukac
Gordon Saxty, NS-MC Consulting LTD (Chair)
Marianne Schimpl, AstraZeneca
Chris Swain, Cambridge MedChem Consulting
Mary Wheldon, University of Dundee (Treasurer)
Alison Woolford, Astex Pharmaceuticals
Secretariat Contact
Hg3 Conferences Ltd
+44 (0)1423 529333
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