Explore the Agenda

8:20 am Check In & Morning Coffee

9:20 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

Chief Executive Officer, Unnatural Products

Envisioning the Success of Peptide-Based Therapeutics Enabled by Robust Biopharma Partnerships, Investments & Innovation Strategies

9:30 am Business Development & Investment Panel Discussion — Exploring the Future of Peptide-Therapeutics Through Successful Funding Rounds, Biopharmaceutical Partnerships & Collaborations

Senior Director, Drug Maker & Peptide Chemistry, Curie.Bio
Chief Executive Officer, Unnatural Products
Principal, Vida Ventures

The biopharmaceutical sector continues to innovate peptide discovery innovations, from new macrocycles to new delivery methods and are thriving on strategic alliances, which allow for cross-functional sharing of knowledge, and experience to advance peptide drugs to patients faster. Hear first-hand how investors and key biotechs are keeping up with the peptide momentum through investments, alliances and collaborations.

Key questions to be addressed include:

  • How to strategize the complexities, risks and decision-making strategies for choosing the right platform to invest and advance innovative approaches in the peptide industry?
  • What are the key areas and spaces that peptides can fill in the biotechnology sector?
  • What does it take for a small biotech to survive and get noticed from an investor or big pharma?

10:00 am The Peptide IP Landscape: Winning with Knowledge, Strategy & Innovation from Peptide Discovery to Development

Patent Attorney, Foley Hoag
  • Harnessing critical understanding of regulatory and IP implications from drug discovery to formulation to ensure smooth market access for your peptide therapeutic
  • Outlining the key IP bottlenecks for making changes to peptide drugs
  • Defining the data packages required to be sufficient for IP submissions

10:30 am Morning Break & Networking

Track A: Drug Discovery

Trailblazing the Next Wave of Peptide Design Through Physics & De Novo Approaches Towards Next Generation Peptide Therapeutic Modalities

11:00 am From Traditional Peptide Discovery to Physics-Based AI Design – A Case Study of GLP-1 & β-Catenin Programs

Chief Technology Officer, Perpetual Medicines
  • Showcasing a traditional drug discovery case study with example of GLP-1 class drugs highlighting the challenges with these approaches
  • Demonstrating the application of AI/ML and physics-based tools to design novel peptide binders with drug-like properties, enabling multi-objective optimization toward a potential clinical candidate
  • Presenting a case of current β-catenin project using physics-based AI approaches

11:30 am Discovery & Characterization of a Selective, Pure Antagonist of TNFR1

Chief Scientific Officer, AI Proteins
  • Introducing de novo designed miniproteins as a next generation therapeutic modality
  • Highlighting the application to antagonism of TNFR1
  • Showcasing differentiation against existing therapies

Track B: Formulation & CMC

Harnessing Carrier Systems & Peptides as Drug Delivery Vehicles to Enable Laser- Focused Targeting of Peptide Drug Delivery

11:00 am Unlocking a Peptide-Based Platform for Targeted Delivery of Therapeutic Agents

Chief Executive Officer, Divincell
  • Rationally designing and optimizing AI-driven peptide-vectors for targeted delivery of different payloads including peptide, protein and RNA
  • Demonstrating safety and characterization of peptide-based nanoparticles for extrahepatic delivery of RNA
  • Leveraging a peptide-based nanoparticle platform for systemic targeted delivery of therapeutic mRNA: T cell engineering and tumor selectivity

NEW COMPANY

11:30 am Revolutionizing Intracellular Delivery with an Advanced Peptide-Based Platform for Clinical Success

Director, Research & Development, Biopharmaceutical Chemistry, Feldan Therapeutics
  • Pioneering endosomal escape through rationally designed peptide shuttles, enabling efficient delivery of small molecules, proteins, enzymes and oligonucleotides across diverse cell types
  • Delivering functional biomolecules in different animal models
  • Demonstrating clinical potential of the Feldan technology through in vivo data and progression to first-in-human trial for basal cell carcinoma

NEW COMPANY

12:00 pm Lunch Break & Networking

Track A: Drug Discovery

Leveraging Case Study Examples of Peptide Discoveries to Achieving High Potency & Selectivity of Peptide-Based Therapeutics & Vaccines

1:00 pm Non-Degradative Macrocyclic Molecular Glue DELs

Senior Director & Head of Platform Sciences, Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals
  • RapaGlues are non-degrading molecular glues that recruit FKBP12 to form a new PPI ternary complex, successfully
  • addressing the large portion of the undrugged cytosolic and transmembrane proteome
  • Leveraging the RapaGlue Platform’s proprietary DELs (over 8 billion compounds) and AI/ML-powered predictions for modelling-guided design to explore the topological diversity required to expand the range of targets
  • RapaGlues promote the intracellular assembly of a proteinsized (+12kD) inhibitor, achieving a high success rate against multiple hard-to-drug targets with high potency, selectivity, and cell permeability

NEW DATA

1:30 pm Active Immunotherapy Using Universal Epitopes

Chief Scientific Officer, Member of the Board, Director of Research & Development, FunPep
  • Peptide vaccine technology involves prolonged suppression due to the production of anti-endogenous target protein antibody
  • Peptide vaccines consist of highly immunogenic helper T cell epitope (AJP001) and B cell epitope originated from target protein
  • Sharing the usefulness of antibody-inducing peptides based on non-clinical and clinical trial data of developed compounds

NEW COMPANY

Track B: Formulation & CMC

Overcoming Bioanalytical & CMC Challenges in Analyzing & Effectively Scaling Peptides to Meet Clinical & Regulatory Expectations

1:00 pm Developing a Fit for Purpose Bioanalytical Strategy to Analyze a Cell-Penetrating Peptide: From Protein Precipitation to Solid Phase Extraction to Affinity Capture

Senior Principal Scientist & Group Lead, Merck & Co
  • Introducing the properties of cell penetrating peptides
  • Discussing the challenges of bioanalysis
  • Utilizing a fit for purpose bioanalytical strategy: from protein precipitation to solid phase extraction to affinity capture

1:30 pm Using the XeriSol Formulation Platform for Peptide Parenteral Drug Delivery

Distinguished Fellow, CMC, Xeris Pharmaceuticals
  • Presenting a non-aqueous, high concentration subcutaneous solution
  • Enabling room temperature stability
  • Showcasing excellent safety and toxicity profiles

NEW COMPANY

2:00 pm Afternoon Break & Networking

Unravelling the Challenges to Effectively Design & Formulate Cell Penetrable Peptide Therapies with Effective Pharmacology, Kinetics & Dynamics to Improve Patient Outcomes

2:30 pm Roundtable Discussion: From Discovery to Translation; Developing Cell Permeable & Orally Bioavailable Peptides with Optimal Pharmacology & DMPK

Senior Principal Scientist & Group Lead, Merck & Co
Project Director II, Immuno-Pharmacology & Peptide Discovery, Abbvie
  • Modifying amino acids to optimise target selectivity and cell membrane permeability to achieve the right pharmacology
  • Modelling protein-protein interactions in the discovery to translate into the preclinical setting
  • Analysing the pharmacokinetic and biodistribution properties of highly soluble orally bioavailable peptides to ensure efficacy when entering the clinic

3:15 pm Peptide Inhibitor of Pan Corona Virus Fusion Protein

Associate Principal Scientist, Merck & Co
  • Introducing of the Pan-Cov peptide inhibitor program and showcasing the peptide modality strategy
  • Establishing in vitro and ex vivo efficacy assays for peptide optimization
  • Discussing the challenges associated with peptide PK and biodistribution

NEW DATA

3:45 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks

Chief Executive Officer, Unnatural Products

4:00 pm End of 3rd Peptide-Based Therapeutics Summit 2026