Drugs: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Several steps in drug discovery often require molecular replacements (i.e. replacing one fragment in a molecule by another one). Such replacements can be performed for various reasons, such as increasing the efficiency of the drug candidate, optimizing its absorption capacity in the body, or reducing its toxicity.

We will present the 2021 update of SwissBioisostere, a database of molecular replacements meant to support the work of medicinal chemists in drug design, as well our latest analyses performed on its molecular fragments.

En Science Forensique, il y a une tendance générale à vouloir déplacer le laboratoire sur la scène de crime. L'avantage est que des informations sur les échantillons analysés peuvent être obtenues quasiment en temps-réel. On prend donc des décisions plus efficaces. C'est dans ce contexte qu'une application mobile a été développée par un Doctorant de l'Ecole des Sciences Criminelles: NIRLAB. Elle permet d'obtenir des informations sur un stupéfiant en quelques secondes. Celle-ci est testée dans le cadre d'autres thèses de Doctorat portant sur le Drug Checking et les falsifications de médicament.

At the end of 2021, a report of a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus became the Omicron variant that we all know of and is the current variant still in circulation within human populations. In this presentation you will hear about the efforts at that time between labs and facilities at EPFL building upon work done in collaboration with the CHUV and most importantly years of expertise. Through continuous investment in research we are equipped with the technology and most importantly the savoir-faire to probe difficult scientific questions here in the region.