On October 20-21, 2026, the ANSO 7^th Pan-Balkan Alliance of Natural Products and Drug Discovery Associations (PANDA) Annual Conference was held in the Grand Hall of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA) in Belgrade, Serbia. Co-hosted by the Institute for Biological Research “Sinisa Stankovic”, National Institute for Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade (IBISS), the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Alliance of National and International Science Organizations for the Belt and Road Regions (ANSO), under the theme “Bridging Science and Nature”, the conference brought together more than 70 researchers and graduate students from 13 countries—including China, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Albania, Greece, Hungary, Cyprus, Portugal, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates—to discuss cutting-edge developments and opportunities for collaboration in the fields of natural products and drug discovery.

Academician Professor Dr. Hongping He, Vice President of CAS and Chair of ANSO, Academician Professor Dr. Zoran Knezevic, President of SASA, H.E. Ming Li, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Serbia, Academician Professor Dr. Yanfen Wang, Director-General of the Bureau of International Cooperation of CAS attended the opening ceremony.

The conference featured a total of 39 academic lectures covering a wide range of topics, including the bioactivity and pharmacological effects of natural products, drug discovery and design, molecular targets and mechanisms of action, the application of artificial intelligence technologies in natural products research, the development and conservation of medicinal plant resources, the extraction and utilization of bioactive plant compounds, agricultural biotechnology and functional foods and nutritional health. SIMM researchers delivered five lectures: Dr. Beili Wu on “Arrestin-mediated Modulation of GPCRs”, Dr. Linghua Meng on “Discovery of Risovalisib, a Highly Potent and Selective PI3Kα Inhibitor for the Treatment of Advanced Solid Tumors”, Dr. Min Huang on “Targeting Metabolism for Cancer Therapy”, Dr. Lijiang Xuan on “Discovery of Syk-Targeting Natural Products and Their Antithrombotic Function” and Dr. Wei Tang on “RIP1/3 in Pulmonary Diseases: Mechanisms and Drug Discovery”.

Dr. Yang Ye, the co-chairman of the conference, pointed out that the increasing number of collaborative achievements among researchers within the alliance fully demonstrates the positive progress the alliance has made in promoting scientific research cooperation among all parties; Participants from SIMM paid particular attention to the lecture by Dr. Dejan Stojkovic from IBISS titled “Comparative Analysis of Medicinal Plant Germplasm Resources in China and Serbia: The Digitalis, Salvia, and Scutellaria Case Study”, which is based on the China-Serbia intergovernmental international science and technology innovation cooperation project under the National Key Research and Development Program of China titled “Comparative Analysis of High-Quality Germplasm Resources in China and Serbia: A Study on the Efficacy Components of Traditional Herbal Medicine Using Spatiotemporal Multidimensional Technology”. By integrating genetic, chemical composition, and bioactivity analyses, this study compared the germplasm resources of medicinal plants in the genera Digitalis, Salvia, and Scutellaria from both countries, providing scientific data for the screening of high-quality germplasm resources and the sustainable use of medicinal plant resources in both countries.

During the conference, the Alliance Council convened a meeting and elected the Principal Research Fellow Dr. Marina Sokovic from IBISS as the new Chair. Representatives from various countries discussed the Alliance’s progress in recent years and outlined plans and prospects for future development. The conference has further strengthened the cooperative network between China and the Pan-Balkan region in the field of natural products and drug discovery, injecting new momentum into future joint research.

Address by H.E. Ming Li, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Serbia

Address by Academician Professor Dr. Hongping He, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of the ANSO

Address by Academician Professor Dr. Zoran Knezevic, President of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts

Address by Dr. Marina Sokovic, Principal Research Fellow, Institute for Biological Research “Sinisa Stankovic”, National Institute for Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade

Address by Dr. Yang Ye, Principal Investigator, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Conference Venue

Group Photo

(Source: China-Serbia "Belt and Road" Joint Laboratory on Natural Products and Drug Discovery | Author: Yang Tianyun)