The 25th EFMC International Smyposium on Medicinal Chemistry brought to GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre more than 860 participants from all the continents except for Antarctica. The 25% of the attendees were academics, 47% were industry affiliated, and around 28% of the participants were students.
Symposium traditionally covers drug discovery advances in major therapeutic areas. This year, it presented the most recent advances in up-to-date topics in some of the areas of the medicinal chemistry, tackled some out-of-the-box areas, and focused as well on Chemical Biology. Particular emphasis was put on first time disclosures, recent highlights in medicinal chemistry, and the impact of artificial intelligence in drug discovery. All of this was achieved through 25 scientific sessions; 111 speakers, including 7 plenary lectures, 3 award and 3 prize lectures; 75 flash poster presentations; 380 posters with two poster presentation sessions; and 48 exhibitors and 22 sponsors.
Bernard Dacier, Conference Manager for LD Organisation sprl – Scientific Conference Producers, told for Kongres magazine that LD Organisation chose the GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre for the Symposium because: »It was the right size for the Symposium with the main auditorium, 2 additional rooms, and 1 large space for the exhibition and posters.« For the organiser, the choice of the venue was very satisfying also because it was easy for the participants to circulate between the rooms.
When asked, what did the organiser like the most about the GR, Mr.Dacier, Conference Manager for LD Organisation, said: »It was big enough to set-up everything by our wishes, but in the same time it was small enough to have good discussions between the participants while not feeling lost in a big venue.«
The European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC) is an independent association representing medicinal chemistry societies in Europe. Its objective is to advance the science of medicinal chemistry by promoting cooperation and networking, by providing training and mentoring, by rewarding scientific excellence, and by facilitating communication and influencing stakeholders. The main organisation for European Chemistry community has 27 member societies and about 7,500 members.
