Monday 17th November

08:00 – 08:50 Registration & refreshments

08:50 – 09:00  Nunzio Sciammetta MSD, USA Introduction to ASF 2025

Plenary lecture

09:00 – 10:00  Prof. Bradley Pentelute  MIT, USA  Same-Day Proteins and Ultra-Large Flow Libraries: Fast-Flow Synthesis Meets Digital Innovation

Session 1 – E2E Automation Platforms Chair: Jenny Kingston

10:00 – 10:25  Dan Maddox  AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden  From Collaboration to Automation: Designing Novel Hardware Solutions

10:25 – 10:50  Dr Sophie Racine  Novartis, Basel, Switzerland  MicroCycle: Accelerating Drug Discovery with a Machine Learning-Driven and Automated Platform

10:50 – 11:15  Dr Elisabeth Speckmeier  Sanofi, Frankfurt, Germany  The Evolution of Automation for Drug Discovery at Sanofi

11:15 – 11:35  Break & exhibition

Session 2 – DNA Encoded LIbraries  Chair: Nunzio Sciammetta

11:35 – 12:00  Dr Dennis Gillingham  University of Basel, Switzerland  New innovations in screening approaches for DNA encoded libraries

12:00 – 12:25  Ingvild Buttingsrud Stokke &  Alexandra Loukidi  Amgen, Copenhagen, Denmark  DEL Technology and Capabilities

12:25 – 14:00  Lunch & exhibition

Session 3 – Automated Medicinal Chemsitry (I)  Chair: Tobias Mochel & David Pearce

14:00 – 14:25  Dr Spencer Dreher MSD  AI, Automation and Enabling Technologies

14:25 – 14:50  Prof. Robert Batey University of Toronto, Canada Accelerating Hit Optimization: Toward a Self-driving Lab

14:50 – 15:15 Dr Bo Hao J&J, USA High-Throughput Chemistry to Accelerate Modality Agnostic Drug Discovery

15:15 – 15:40 Dr Drew Bogdan Abbvie, USA Transforming Discovery: 20 Years of High-Throughput Parallel Library Synthesis at AbbVie – From Workflow Evolution to Data-Driven Innovation

15:40 – 16:00 Break & exhibition

Session 4 – ML and Chemical Prediction Chair: Irene Giménez-Nueno

16:00 – 16:25 Dr Fernanda Duarte University of Oxford, UK Reaction Modelling in the Age of Automation and ML

16:25 – 16:50 Dr Peiyu Zhang XtalPi, China Automated Synthesis: Empowers Data-Driven AI for Chemical Space Exploration

16:50 – 17:15 Dr Angelo Lanzilotto Merck Group Linking Synthia Retrosynthesis Software to Synple Automated Synthesizer

17:15 End of day one sessions

19:00 Drinks reception followed by dinner at the Leonardo Royal Hotel

Tuesday 17th November

08:30 – 09:00 Exhibition and refreshments

Plenary lecture

09:00 – 10:00 Prof. Andrei Yudin University of Toronto, Canada Strategic replacement of amino acid residues in linear and macrocyclic peptides with heterocycles

Session 5 – Automated Medicinal Chemistry (II) Chair: Andrew Ledgard

10:00 – 10:25 Dr Rachel Grainger Astex, Cambridge, UK Automated Synthesis Technologies at Astex

10:25 – 10:50 Prof. Stephen Hilton UCL, London, UK Jarvis for Chemists: Remote Photochemistry in a VR-Connected Lab

10:50 – 11:10 Break & exhibition

Session 6 – Automated Purification Chair: Chris West & Tobias Mochel

11:10 – 11:35 Dr Jennifer Kingston AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK Flexible Automated Purification Workflows

11:35 – 12:00 Dr Emma Blackham & Dr Chris Pearce Sygnature, Nottingham, UK Accelerating Library Synthesis: Integrating SFC Purification, HTE Optimization, and Digital Workflows

12:00 – 12:25 Dr Brahim Benyahia University of Loughborough, UK Self Driving, Self optimising Flash Chromatography – Towards Smarter and Greener Purifications

12:25 – 13:25 Lunch & exhibition

Session 7 – Flexible Automation Solutions Chair: Will Buffham

13:25 – 13:50 Dr Sam Staniland AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK Leveraging HTE and Biocatalysis to Accelerate Early Discovery Programs

13:50 – 14:15 Dr Blandine Mackay & Dr Irene Giménez Neueno GSK, Stevenage, UK Automation from Drug Discovery to Development and Beyond

14:15 – 14:40 Dr Robbert van Putten J&J, Belgium Flexible automation in chemical process R&D

14:40 – 15:05 Dr Becky Greenaway Imperial College, London, UK Automated high-throughput workflows for the synthesis and property screening of molecular organic materials

Session 8 – HTE and Enabling Technologies Chair: Paul Turner

15:05 – 15:30 Dr Neal Sachs

Pfizer, USA Sub-Micromolar Screening in Flow

15:30 – 15:55 Dr Raphael Bigler Roche, Basel, Switzerland Data-Driven Process Chemistry: Integrating High-Throughput Experimentation with Novel Optimization Algorithms

15:55 – 16:20 Dr Vincent Porte Boehringer-Ingelheim Automated Volumetric Dispensing of ChemBeads for HTE in 384-well Microtiter Plates

16:20 Andrew Ledgard – Final remarks and meeting close