Conference Day One

7:30 am
MORNING REFRESHMENTS & CHECK IN

8:25 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

  • Tarek Samad Senior Vice President & Global Head of Research, Corporate Patents & Trademarks, Lundbeck

SPEARHEADING CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT TO ACCELERATE NEXT GENERATION NEUROIMMUNOLOGY THERAPIES IN 2024

8:30 am Spotlighting Clinical Trials of TREM2 Agonists Against Alzheimer’s Disease

Synopsis

Overviewing the on-going clinical landscape of TREM2 therapeutics

• Detailing currently employed biomarkers – what they are and what reveal

• Outlining high-level modality considerations for rare vs common neurodegenerative diseases

• Making the case for precision-based clinical development

9:00 am Clinical Development of AL002, a Monoclonal Antibody Activating TREM2 Signaling Against Alzheimer’s Disease

  • Gary Romano Chief Medical Officer, Alector Pharmaceuticals LLC

Synopsis

• Outlining rationale for TREM2 agonism for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

• Exploring target engagement and treatment effects on microglial function

• Evaluating safety and efficacy assessments

9:30 am NULISA: Ultra-sensitive & Multiplex Immunoassay Platform for Fluid Biomarkers in CNS Disease

  • Christopher Bunker Vice President, Biopharma Business Development, Alamar Biosciences Inc.

Synopsis

  • New biomarker assay technology, NULISA™ – with ultra-sensitive femtogram level detection with proprietary background suppression technology
  • Unique NULISA CNS Disease Panel detecting nearly 120 critical biomarkers covering diverse neurological diseases
  • Ultra-sensitive NULISA technology holds great promise to enable early detection and monitoring of neurodegenerative diseases to aid in new therapeutic development.

10:00 am
SPEED NETWORKING

Synopsis

As the neuroimmunology community reunites in-person, this session is a great opportunity to introduce yourself to neuroimmunology and neuroinflammation experts across leading drug developer biopharma. Enjoy face-to-face time with many of the brightest minds capturing the main challenges and changes in the neuroimmunology field to reconnect with peers and establish new and meaningful collaborative relationships

10:30 am
MORNING BREAK & NETWORKING

SUPERCHARGING IN VITRO MODELS TO ASSESS NEUROIMMUNE TARGET IMPACT ON DISEASE PHENOTYPES

11:00 am Leveraging iPSC-derived Microglia for Screening & Investigation of Targets Against Neuroinflammation

Synopsis

• Quality control and assay development of iPSC-derived microglia platform

• Review and comparison of published iPSC-derived microglia differentiation protocols

• Challenges and future direction: high throughput and customize

11:30 am Developing iPSC Microglia Functional Models to Interrogate Target Impacts of Neurodegenerative Phenotypes

  • Andrew Kaplan Senior Scientist & Lab Head, Neuroscience TRC, Bristol Myers Squibb

Synopsis

• Outlining development of microglia functional models in culture systems to characterize different disease phenotypes

• Using gene expression, transcriptomic readouts, phagocytosis, and cytokine release phenotypes to assess inputs in microglia function in neurodegeneration

• Interrogating targets to investigate impact on disease phenotypes

12:00 pm Utilizing Human iPSC-Derived Neural Cells for Drug Discovery

Synopsis

  • Summarizing BrainXell’s iPSC products and services
  • Detailing information about our control and disease microglia
  • Review of other cell types: neurons, astrocytes, and endothelial cells

12:10 pm Embracing Genetic Diversity of iPSC-based Neuroinflammation Models for Robust Drug Discovery

  • Martin Jacko Chief Executive Officer, Aperture Therapeutics

Synopsis

• Developing iPSC panels to account for distinct disease origins and diverse patient genomic background in drug discovery

• Leveraging data on protective genomic variants to bolster prioritization of therapeutically relevant disease modifiers

• Catalyzing discovery of neuroinflammation modulators for neurodegeneration using therapeutic oligonucleotides

12:40 pm
LUNCH & NETWORKING

DEVELOPING CO-CULTURE & BRAIN ORGANOIDS TO RECAPITULATE COMPLEX NEUROINFLAMMATORY ENVIRONMENTS

1:45 pm Developing Robust 3D Cultures to Establish Complex In Vitro Neuroinflammatory Environments

  • Olga Liaudanskaya Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, University of Cincinnati

Synopsis

• Developing robust protocols of integrated neuroimmune and neurovascular units in 3D in vitro models

• Assessing co-culture capabilities to recapitulate neuroimmunology microenvironment and elicit desired disease phenotypes

• Probing readouts of interactions and functions amongst neurons, microglia, astrocytes, and brain vasculature

2:15 pm Characterization of a Systems Biology Platform Incorporating Human Microglia with Rodent Neurons & Astrocytes

Synopsis

  • Outlining development of chimeric culture system where hiPSC microglia robustly respond to inflammatory stimuli
  • Demonstrating functional and morphological effects of microglia-dependent inflammation using cytokine release, neuronal function and high content imaging assays
  • Platform that recapitulates neuroinflammation systems biology amenable for neuroinflammatory compound screening

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2:25 pm Leveraging Immunocompetent Brain Organoids to Investigate Remyelination & Neuroinflammation

Synopsis

• Developing immunocompetent brain organoids by incorporating iPSC-derived microglia

• Conducting parallel safety and efficacy readouts

• Utilizing brain organoids for biomarker evaluation in drug screening

2:55 pm
AFTERNOON BREAK & NETWORKING

PIONEERING NEUROINFLAMMATORY BIOMARKERS TO OPTIMIZE PATIENT IDENTIFICATION & MONITOR DISEASE PROGRESSION

3:30 pm Panel Discussion: Discussing the Current Status of Neuroinflammatory Biomarkers & Existing Obstacles to Overcome in Neuroimmunology

  • Kelly Pike Senior Director, Head Of Translational Sciences & Disease Strategy, Ventus Therapeutics
  • Manuela Polydoro VP, Head of Translational Medicine, Muna Therapeutics

Synopsis

• Outlining the challenges of using fluid and CSF biomarkers to determine efficacy against neuroinflammation from remote sites of action

• Discussing emerging and established imaging tools for neuroinflammation in neurological indications

• Explaining the need for longitudinal samples to assist in biomarker validation and reliability in the clinic

• How does the recent accepted use of NfL as a surrogate endpoint in ALS impact the neuroimmunology field?

4:00 pm ioMicroglia: Revolutionizing Neurodegenerative Disease Drug Development

Synopsis

  • See characterisation and functional data on precision reprogrammed hiPSC-derived ioMicroglia that show phagocytosis and cytokine secretion within days, enabling consistent, rapid and physiologically relevant results
  • Discover how ioDisease models for late-onset Alzheimer’s allow precise identification of disease-related effects when compared with genetically matched ioWild Type Cells
  • Gain insights into CRISPR-Ready ioMicroglia, offering scalable and consistent CRISPR screens for drug target discovery in physiologically relevant human cell types

4:15 pm Showcasing Early Discovery of Biomarkers Against TREM2 for Alzheimer’s Disease

  • Choya Yoon Associate Principal Scientist, Merck & Co

Synopsis

• Detailing molecular investigations to identify TREM2 pathway-implicated biomarkers in pre-clinical models

• Assessing biomarker use for monitoring efficacy of anti-inflammatory therapies

• Translatable biomarker development efforts to predict and identify neuroinflammation progression in neurodegeneration

4:45 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks

  • Tarek Samad Senior Vice President & Global Head of Research, Corporate Patents & Trademarks, Lundbeck

4:45 pm
Scientific Poster Session & Drinks Reception:

Synopsis

This session is a great opportunity to introduce yourself and your work to experts across leading neuroimmunology biopharma. In an informal setting, unwind and enjoy face-to-face time with many of the brightest minds in the field, displaying scientific posters capturing the main advancements and challenges across discovery, preclinical, translational, and early clinical neuroimmunology drug development 

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5:45 pm
END OF CONFERENCE DAY ONE