Day Two

• Explore how intracellular constrained peptide libraries and diverse cross-linking modalities can expand access to challenging intracellular targets beyond the reach of conventional therapeutic approaches.
• Compare different peptide screening strategies and the trade-offs involved in selecting for affinity, stability, cellular permeability and functional biological activity.
• Discover how functional peptide selection in living cells can identify modulators of transcription factors and other complex intracellular protein-protein interactions, creating new opportunities for therapeutic development.

• Explore the opportunities and challenges of oromucosal administration as an alternative delivery route for peptide therapeutics, overcoming barriers associated with conventional oral and injectable formulations.
• Discover formulation and delivery strategies that enhance peptide absorption across buccal and sublingual while improving bioavailability, patient convenience, and therapeutic performance.
• Presentation of in vivo PK data in pigs from the EU BUCCAL-PEP consortium (2023- 2026).

• Explore innovative peptide synthesis and cyclisation strategies to generate structurally diverse libraries with enhanced stability, potency and drug-like properties.
• Compare next-generation screening platforms, including DNA-Encoded Libraries (DEL) and Affinity Selection Mass Spectrometry (ASMS), to identify high-quality peptide hits beyond traditional display technologies.
• Discover how integrated synthesis and screening workflows can improve hit quality, shorten discovery timelines and accelerate progression towards clinically relevant peptide candidates.

• When to engage formulation scientists in the discovery process to avoid late-stage failures.
• How to balance peptide design optimisation with formulation technology requirements.
• Real-world examples of peptide programs that succeeded or failed based on early formulation integration.
• Best practices for cross-functional collaboration between medicinal chemists and formulation scientists.

• Explore how peptide array technologies can rapidly identify protein binding regions and generate actionable insights for peptide design and target validation.
• Discover how peptide arrays support the rational design of functional and macrocyclic peptides and learn how lead macrocycles can be further optimised to enhance potency, binding affinity and therapeutic potentialt.
• Gain practical insights into integrating peptide array screening into early discovery workflows to accelerate hit identification, guide lead optimisation and de-risk candidate selection.

• Compare emerging in vitro models for assessing macrocyclic peptide permeability and identify the assays that deliver the greatest predictive value for in vivo outcomes.
• Explore how formulation and screening strategies can be integrated to strengthen translational decision-making from early discovery through preclinical development.
• Learn best practices for selecting predictive screening platforms that improve candidate quality, reduce development risk, and accelerate oral peptide programmes.

• Explore alternative solvents and greener synthesis methods that reduce environmental impact while improving yields, learning how peptide synthesiser manufacturers are adapting equipment to accommodate novel solvents.
• Understand the business case for sustainable manufacturing beyond regulatory compliance and discover innovations in solvent recovery and waste reduction.
• Gain insights into how green chemistry can reduce cost-of-goods while meeting sustainability goals.

• Understand why peptide-related impurities have different toxicological profiles than small molecule impurities and learn strategies for negotiating appropriate impurity thresholds with regulatory agencies.
• Discover analytical methods for identifying and quantifying peptide impurities below 0.1% and master approaches for moving from preparative HPLC to crystallisation for impurity removal.
• Gain insights into when peptide fragments qualify as regulatory starting materials.

Don’t let the conversations end with the final presentation. Before everyone heads back into the demands of day-to-day research, use this dedicated session to reconnect with speakers and peers, exchange final insights and ensure you leave with the right contacts, ideas and collaborations to accelerate your future peptide programmes.