GoingToMeet

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is maturing into a key scientific tool, which is increasingly applied in the scientific community and pharmaceutical industry to study drug distribution, drug-target interactions, and disease processes, especially in CNS and oncology areas. Using specific radiotracers, PET can be performed serially over time in the same live subject to study receptor occupancy and pharmacodynamic response of drug action. These studies can facilitate the selection of drug candidates to advance to clinical trials and guide clinical dose selection. This non-invasive technology also allows longitudinal studies to elucidate the underlying pathophysiology of disease, follow the progression, and monitor the outcome of treatment. The combination of genomic knowledge with PET imaging will provide more specific phenotypes that can help to identify genetic predictors of drug response. The objective of this conference is to bring together a wide range of academic and industrial scientists within the PET molecular imaging community with expertise in imaging systems, analytical tools, and drug discovery/development to address some key issues common to the fields of neurology and oncology. The meeting will provide a forum for the cross-fertilization of experience across these two disciplines, including sharing of knowledge in the development and usage of radiotracers, identifying gaps and opportunities in using PET to facilitate drug development, and discussing innovative solutions to overcome challenges in multi-center trials and biomarker qualification/validation.