The 2017 Queenstown Molecular Biology (Shanghai) Meetings, concurring with the 9th National Forum on New Technologies in Drug Discovery and the 6th Meeting of Chinese Network for Drug and Diagnostics Innovation, were held at China Financial Information Center located in Lujiazui, Pudong on March 16 -17, 2017. Drs. Ming-Wei Wang (Director of the National Center for Drug Screening and Dean of Fudan School of Pharmacy) and Peter Shepherd (Professor of the University of Auckland, New Zealand) co-organized the 2-day events. 

The main theme of these events is “Drug Discovery and Basic Science”. These events were including 4 plenary lectures and 8 parallel sessions, entitled Cancer Biology, Central Nervous System & Inflammation, Receptors & Channels, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Innovation, Development, Young Investigators’ Forum and International Journal Forum. More than 400 domestic and overseas scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, managers, graduate and undergraduate students from 26 countries and regions attended the meetings. One hundred and five invited speakers from 23 countries and regions (59% of them were from overseas), including several internationally renowned scholars and 12 young investigators from Togo, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Singapore, Japan and China made their presentations. Nineteen multinational or domestic instrument, informatics, reagent and consumable vendors provided financial support to these events; 8 of them sent their representatives to give oral introductions to the audience covering various hot topics on global drug innovation, such as new trends, new strategies, new technologies, new methods, new tools and new equipment. 

Among the sponsors were Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the National Health and Family Planning Commission, Ministry of Sciences and Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, CAS, the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China Financial Information Center (affiliated to Xinhua News Agency), Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration, Maurice Wilkins Center of New Zealand, Novo Nordisk A/S of Denmark, the Chinese National Compound Library, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR/WHO), Shanghai Pudong Association for Science and Technology, Zhangjiang High-Tech Park, Acta Pharmacologica Sinica, Asian Chemical Biology Initiative, Chinese Network for Drug and Diagnostics Innovation and Shanghai Research and Development Public Service Platform, etc. 

Queenstown Molecular Biology Meetings are an international academic forum with a history of more than 26 years, which have attracted attendees of numerous scientists, students and entrepreneurs. This is the fifth time to hold the meeting outside of New Zealand, following a successful launching in Shanghai in 2013. 

Attendees in the meetings（Image by ZHANG Chong）

Attendees in the meeting （Image by ZHANG Chong）

（Credit：Dr. Wang Mingwei’s group）