2nd Annual Biomarker Discovery Europe Conference to be Held by GTCbio on October 1-2, 2009 in Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal, July 09, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The cost to discover and develop a drug is increasing dramatically both in Europe and the US. However, the number of approved new drug products is on the decline. Drug manufacturers are desperately searching for ways to increase the efficiency of the drug discovery process while decreasing the costs and time it takes for approvals.

Biomarkers are increasingly being used to answer specific questions that provide critical go-no go decision-support data as a compound moves down the pipeline and soaks up more and more R&D dollars. Thus, biomarkers are being used to measure clinical response to a drug, to quantify drug-target interactions, to demonstrate the relevance of a molecule to the pathophysiology of a particular disease, and as safety indicators that can identify subjects who might react adversely to a drug. Biomarkers have become increasingly important at every stage of development of a compound and subsequent post-approval lifecycle management.

GTCBio’s 2nd Annual Biomarker Discovery Europe Conference, to be held this October 1-2, 2009 in Lisbon, Portugal will provide a focused look at the applications of biomarkers throughout the drug discovery process. The conference will provide the tools on how to incorporate biomarkers into your discovery programs and translational research for better results. They will discuss new strategies & technologies for biomarker discovery as well as highlight biomarkers that are currently in clinical trials.

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