Events

RSC-BMCS 6th Synthesis in Drug Discovery and Development 2026

Event
RSC-BMCS 6th Synthesis in Drug Discovery and Development

Dates
Monday 18th May – Tuesday 19th May, 2026

Place
Virtual (Zoom)

Important links and downloads
Hashtag for social media – #SDDD26
Please click here to register

Synopsis
Synthesis is at the heart of drug discovery and development. The industry has increasingly demanded higher quality clinical candidates and has sought to exploit less druggable biological targets. Densely functionalised small molecules with a high degree of synthetic complexity are often the result of these demands. Successful programmes therefore require the application of innovative synthesis in all stages of discovery and development. The medicinal chemist’s toolbox is also enhanced by the introduction of novel bioisosteres, often made available only through the application of new synthetic methods. This symposium aims to celebrate the crucial role of synthesis in the success of drug discovery and development.

Who should attend?
Chemists from industry and academia, including synthetic, medicinal, agroscience, and process chemists.

Want to become a member?
To join the RSC in order to qualify for discounted registration fees at all RSC events, please follow this RSC link.

Registration
Please click here to register.

RSC Member: £60.00
Non-Member: £90.00
RSC Student Member: £30.00
Student Non-Member: £45.00

Please note that registrations are for one person per booking.

If you wish to register multiple people from the same organisation, we can offer a sizeable discount. If you are interested, please contact aimee.jackson@hg3.co.uk.

Call for Abstracts
The organising committee are accepting abstracts for either a short talk (10-minute talk) or a full talk (40-minute talk). To support our goal of promoting the next generation of chemists in synthetic, medicinal, agrochemical, and process chemistry, abstracts are particularly welcome from PhD students and other early career scientists. The deadline for abstract submission is now Midnight (GMT), Friday 6th March 2026.

Abstract submission is now closed.

Exhibition/Sponsor Opportunities

Exhibitor package is priced at £200.00 and includes:
– Name and URL link on BMCS event page
– Company logo included in the electronic handbook and rolling slides at the event
– A4 promotional page in the electronic handbook
– Access to the online meeting

Exhibitor plus package is priced at £400.00 and includes:
– Name and URL link on BMCs event page
– Company logo included in the electronic handbook and rolling slides at the event
– A4 promotional page in the electronic handbook
– 3 minute pre-recorded video to be played on loop during the breaks
Access to the online meeting

Pre-Conference Email Blast (£250.00)
– One email sent to the conference delegates prior to the meeting

Please click here to register for an exhibitor/sponsor package.

Confirmed Exhibitors and Sponsors 

Confirmed Speakers

Nathaniel Kadunce, Gilead
Process Development of Lenacapavir and its Complex Pyrazole Fragment

Loic Pantaine, Pharmaron

Sophie Rousseaux, University of Toronto
New Strategies for the Synthesis and Functionalization of Small Rings

Hatice Yayla, Pfizer
Enabling challenging photocatalytic transformations for medicinal chemistry programs: a series of case studies

Tom McGuire, AstraZeneca

Mariola Tortosa Manzanares, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Catalysis to increase complexity: stereoselective synthesis of sp3-rich building blocks

Daniele Leonori, RWTH Aachen University
Novel synthetic methods using photochemistry

Organising Committee
Katherine Jones, Charles River (Chair)
Martin Swarbrick, Pharmaron (Treasurer)
Andrew Williams, RSC BMCS
Pradip Songara, Rothamsted Research

Secretariat Contact and Further Information
Hg3 Conferences Ltd
+44 (0)1423 529333
E-mail