On Friday 13 September, we headed to the University of Westminster’s Regent Street campus to hear Dr David Matthews (of the medical research charity LifeArc) give two talks on therapeutic antibodies. This is a relatively new area of medicine that promises to deliver innovative treatments for diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, migraine and cancer, primarily in combination with other drugs.
In Dr Matthews’ first lecture, he gave an overview of the drug discovery and development process, which afforded us an insight into the generation and trialling of therapeutic antibodies and the problems arising from poor research practices. The second lecture focused on two case studies of therapeutic antibodies in development, with a brief look into the future of treatment and digital health.
As usual, in the afternoon we split off into translation groups to discuss texts that we had prepared before the workshop and Dr Matthews circulated the groups to answer questions.
At 5:30, we moved to the Wigmore Hall bar for a drink and catch-up, followed by a delicious dinner at Le Comptoir Libanais.
Many thanks to Shirley Barratt for coordinating the workshop, Dr Maggie Hook for emceeing on the day and Dr Matthews for a fascinating glimpse into an exciting field of study. A full write-up of the workshop will be published in a forthcoming Newsletter.