There has been a great deal of interest in the potential of the Ubiquitin Proteasome System (UPS), which many consider to be the next step along from kinase research. Kinases are currently one of the top targets for the pharmaceutical industry with up to 30% of drug discovery budgets being spent on this target class. The broader roles of the UPS in disease is driving increased academic and industrial attention, and with the approval of the drug Velcade for treatment of multiple myeloma, we now have proof of principal and the potential for investment in many new drugs. The panel will discuss some of their business models and how they plan to fast-track through momentum gained from kinase drug discovery towards commercial endpoints. They will also discuss the attractiveness of the UPS market to investors.

• Explore the opportunities provided by UPS as rich but so far unexploited source of drug targets
• Explain catalysts involved in the translation from the bench to the patient
• Examine the successes and failures from the kinase market and how to capitalise on the ubiquitin market