SDDS 2025: Stanford Drug Discovery Symposium

Welcome to the 2025 Stanford Drug Discovery Symposium. This event has become a cornerstone in the drug discovery community for networking and collaboration. SDDS 2025 offers a unique opportunity for all members of the drug discovery community – including researchers, pharmaceutical companies, investment groups, academia, and the broader biomedical community – to share ideas and innovations. We anticipate two days of exciting talks and discussions, including the return of our poster session. We look forward to welcoming you to Stanford for SDDS 2025.

— Joseph C. Wu, MD, PhD | Director, Cardiovascular Institute

Interested in sponsoring SDDS 2026? Contact us!

Lifetime Achievement Awardees

Jens Juul Holst, MD, DMSc

Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen

Joel Habener, MD

Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, DMSc

Chief Scientific Advisor, Novo Nordisk

Participants

Srini Akkaraju, MD, PhD

Founder & Managing Partner, Samsara BioCapital.

Robert Blum, MBA

President and CEO,
Cytokinetics

Rob Califf, MD

Former FDA Commissioner, US Food and Drug and Administration

Jennifer Doudna, PhD

Nobel Laureate 2020; Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair, Professor, UC Berkley

Alexander Hardy, MBA

President and CEO, BioMarin

Thomas Hudson, MD

Venture Partner, Versant Ventures

Karen Knudsen, MBA, PhD

CEO, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy

Jonathan Levin, PhD, MPhil

President and Bing Presidential Professor, Stanford University

Shweta Maniar

Global Director of Healthcare and Life Sciences, Google Cloud

Vijay Pande, PhD

General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz

Stephen Quake, D.Phil

Head of Science, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Marcus Schindler, PhD

Executive Vice President, Research & Early Development, and CSO, Novo Nordisk

Thomas Südhof, MD

Nobel Laureate 2013; Avram Goldstein Professor and Prof of Neurosurgery, Stanford University

Nick Wilson, PhD

Head of Immunology Research, Biogen

Frank Bennett, PhD

CSO, Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Jay Bradner, MD

Executive Vice President, R&D, Amgen

Navin Chaddha, MS

Managing Partner, Mayfield

Levi Garraway, MD, PhD

Executive Vice President, Head of Global Product Dev, and CMO, Roche / Genentech

Francis Ho, PhD

Partner, Walden Catalyst

Karin Immergluck, PhD

Associate Vice Provost, Office of Technology Licensing, Stanford University

Samarth Kulkarni, PhD

CEO and Chairman of the Board, CRISPR Therapeutics

Dean Li, MD, PhD

Executive Vice President and President, Merck Research Laboratories

Mark McClellan, MD, PhD

Director and Robert J. Margolis, MD, Professor of Business, Medicine, and Policy, Margolis Institute for Health Policy, Duke University

Becky Pferdehirt, PhD

Investing Partner, Andreessen Horowitz

John Reed, MD, PhD

Executive Vice President, Innovation Medicine, R&D, Johnson & Johnson

Dan Sheeran, MBA

General Manager, Healthcare and Life Science, Amazon Web Services

Marc Tessier-Lavigne, PhD

CEO, Xaira Therapeutics

Jonathan Wosen, PhD

West Coast Biotech & Life Sciences Reporter, STAT

Carolyn Bertozzi, PhD

Nobel Laureate 2022
Baker Family Director of Sarafan ChEM-H

Robert Bradway, MBA

Chairman and CEO, Amgen

Mira Chaurushiva, PhD

Managing Director, Westlake BioPartners

Ruth Gimeno, PhD

Group Vice President, Diabetes, Obesity & Cardiometabolic Research and Early Clinical Development, Eli Lilly

Stephen Hoge, MD

President,
Moderna

Joe Jimenez, MBA

Co-Founder and Managing Director, Aditum Bio

Christoph Lengauer, MD, PhD

Co-Founder and CSO, Curie.Bio

Michelle Longmire, MD

Co-Founder and CEO, Medable

Lloyd Minor, MD

Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Professorship for the Dean, Stanford School of Medicine

Andrew Plump, MD, PhD

President of Research and Development, Takeda

Randy Schekman, PhD

Nobel Laureate, 2013; Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley

Caroline Stout

Partner, EcoRI Capital

Jonathan Thomas, PhD, JD

President and CEO, CIRM

George Yancopoulos, MD, PhD

President and Chief Scientific Officer, Regeneron

Agenda

All times listed are PT.

Monday, April 28, 2025

All times listed are PT

8:30-9:00 am

Registration
Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center
326 Galvez Street, Stanford, CA

9:00-9:15 am | Opening Remarks

Joseph Wu, MD, PhD
Director, Stanford Cardiovascular Institute; Simon H. Stertzer, MD, Professor of Medicine and Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine

Lloyd Minor, MD
Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Professorship for the Dean, Stanford University School of Medicine

Jonathan Levin, PhD, MPhil
President and Bing Presidential Professor, Stanford University

9:15-10:35 am | Session I: Big Opportunities and Pressing Issues in Drug Discovery I

Moderator: Andrew Plump, MD, PhD | Facilitator: Mark Mercola, PhD

John Reed, MD, PhD
Executive Vice President, Innovation Medicine, R&D, Johnson & Johnson
Leveraging Deep Disease Area Expertise to Bring Transformational Medicines to Patients

Vijay Pande, PhD
General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz
From Molecules to Models: Rethinking Drug Development in the Age of AI

Marc Tessier-Lavigne, PhD
CEO, Xaira Therapeutics
How Big Data and Technology are Disrupting Healthcare

Dan Sheeran, MBA
General Manager, Healthcare and Life Science, Amazon Web Services
AI in Drug Discovery: Separating Hype from Reality

Panel Discussion

10:35-12:15 pm | Session II: Big Opportunities and Pressing Issues in Drug Discovery II

Moderator: Michelle Longmire, MD | Facilitator: Sanjay Malhotra, PhD

Dean Li, MD, PhD
Executive Vice President and President, Merck Research Laboratories
A First in Class Activin Signaling Inhibitor for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension- Humbling Experiences on the Road from Academia to Industry

Shweta Maniar
Global Director of Healthcare and Life Sciences, Google Cloud
AI's Impact on Drug Discovery and Development

Nick Wilson, PhD
Head of Immunology Research, Biogen
From Legacy to Future: Biogen’s Approach to Immunology

Ruth Gimeno, PhD
Group Vice President, Diabetes, Obesity & Cardiometabolic Research and Early Clinical Development, Eli Lilly and Company
Obesity Beyond Incretins

Stephen Hoge, MD
President, Moderna
Sustaining Progress During Times of Uncertainty

Panel Discussion

12:15-1:15 pm

Networking Lunch

1:15-2:00 pm | Session III: Fireside Chat with former FDA Commissioners

Moderator: Andrew Plump, MD, PhD | Facilitator: Kuldev Singh, MD

Robert Califf, MD
Former FDA Commissioner, US Food and Drug and Administration

Mark McClellan, MD, PhD
Director and Robert J. Margolis, MD, Professor of Business, Medicine, and Policy, Margolis Institute for Health Policy, Duke University

2:00-3:05 pm | Session IV: Foundation, Funding, and Regulatory Perspectives

Moderator: Jonathan Wosen, PhD | Facilitator: Sanjay Malhotra, PhD

Stephen Quake, D.Phil
Head of Science, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
A Decade of Molecular Cell Atlases

Karen Knudsen, MBA, PhD
CEO, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
The PICI Science-to-Startup Model: De-Risking Cancer Discovery and Accelerating Access to Cures

Jonathan Thomas, PhD, JD
President and CEO, CIRM
Funding Science Through PPP's: CIRM and CGT Research

Panel Discussion

3:05-3:25 pm

Coffee Break and Poster Viewing

3:25-4:00 pm | Session V: Venture Capital Perspectives on Drug Discovery Medicine

Moderator: Karin Immergluck, PhD | Facilitator: Kuldev Singh, MD

Srini Akkaraju, MD, PhD
Founder & Managing Partner, Samsara BioCapital

Caroline Stout
Partner, EcoRi Capital

Christoph Lengauer, PhD, MBA
Co-Founder & CSO, Curie.Bio

Francis Ho, PhD
Partner, Walden Catalyst

4:00-5:10 pm | Session VI: New Paradigms for Genetic Medicines

Moderator: Ruth Gimeno, PhD | Facilitator: Mark Mercola, PhD

Samarth Kulkarni, PhD
CEO and Chairman of the Board, CRISPR Therapeutics

Jennifer Doudna, PhD
Nobel Laureate 2020; Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair, Professor, UC Berkeley
Expanding CRISPR Cures to Advance Global Health

Frank Bennett, PhD
CSO, Ioanis Pharmaceuticals
Antisense Based Therapies

Panel Discussion

5:10 pm | Day 1 Summary

Joseph Wu, MD, PhD
Director, Stanford Cardiovascular Institute; Simon H. Stertzer, MD, Professor of Medicine and Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine

5:10-6:00 pm

Networking and Poster Session
Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center
Fisher Hall

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

All times listed are PT

8:30-9:00 am

Registration
Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center
326 Galvez Street, Stanford, CA

9:00-9:15 am | Day 2 Welcome

Joseph Wu, MD, PhD
Director, Stanford Cardiovascular Institute; Simon H. Stertzer, MD, Professor of Medicine and Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine

9:15-10:00 am | Session VII: Securing the Path Forward: Funding Opportunities in Drug Discovery

Moderator: Joe Jimenez, MBA | Facilitator: Sanjay Malhotra, PhD

Thomas Hudson, MD
Venture Partner, Versant Ventures

Navin Chaddha, MS
Managing Partner, Mayfield

Becky Pferdehirt, PhD
Investment Partner, Andreesen Horowitz (a16z)

Mira Chaurushiya, PhD
Managing Director, Westlake BioPartners

Joe Jimenez, MBA
Co-Founder and Managing Director, Aditum Bio

10:00-10:30 am

Coffee Break and Poster Viewing

10:30-12:00 pm | Session VIII: Strategic Vision in Drug Discovery

Moderator: John Reed, MD, PhD | Facilitator: Kuldev Singh, MD

Marcus Schindler, PhD
Executive Vice President, Research & Early Development, and CSO, Novo Nordisk

Jay Bradner, MD
Executive Vice President, R&D, and CSO, Amgen
Atomic Resolution of Disease: New Frontiers in Drug Discovery

Michelle Longmire, MD
Co-Founder and CEO, Medable
Leveraging AI & Digital to transform Clinical Development

George Yancopoulos, MD, PhD
President and CSO, Regeneron
Large Scale Genetics in Mice and Humans Guiding Drug Discovery and Development

Panel Discussion

12:00-1:15 pm

Networking Lunch

1:15-2:35 pm | Session IX: Leadership Perspectives in Drug Discovery

Moderator: Carolyn Bertozzi, PhD | Facilitator: Sanjay Malhotra, PhD

Robert Bradway, MBA
Chairman and CEO, Amgen
Biotechnology’s Next Frontier

Robert Blum, MBA
President and CEO, Cytokinetics
From Start up to Scale up: A Journey of Innovation, Perseverance, and Fortitude

Alexander Hardy, MBA
President and CEO, BioMarin
Our Wins Save Lives

Levi Garraway, MD, PhD
Executive Vice President, Head of Product Development, and CMO, Genentech
Discovering and Developing Transformative Medicines

Panel Discussion

2:35-3:20 pm | Session X: Nobel Laureate Perspectives on the Drug Discovery Landscape

Moderator: Robert Califf, MD | Facilitator: Kuldev Singh, MD

Carolyn Bertozzi, PhD
Nobel Laureate 2022; Baker Family Director of Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University

Randy Schekman, PhD
Nobel Laureate 2013; Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley

Thomas Südhof, MD
Nobel Laureate 2013; Avram Goldstein Professor and Professor of Neurosurgery, Stanford University

3:20-3:40 pm

Coffee Break and Poster Viewing

3:40-5:00 pm | Session XI: Presentation of Lifetime Achievement Award Lecture

Moderators: Lloyd Minor, MD, and Marcus Schindler, PhD | Facilitator: Mark Mercola, PhD

Introduction
Marcus Schindler, PhD
Executive Director, R&D, and CSO, Novo Nordisk

Awardee Lecture
Jens Juul Holst, MD, DMSc
Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen
Physiology of GLP-1

Awardee Lecture
Joel Habener, MD
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
GLP-1: Discovery and Health Benefits

Awardee Lecture
Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, DMSc
Chief Scientific Advisor, Novo Nordisk
Unlocking GLP-1 Potential: Innovative Druggability Solutions

Moderated Q&A Session

5:00 pm | Closing Remarks

Joseph Wu, MD, PhD
Director, Stanford Cardiovascular Institute; Simon H. Stertzer, MD, Professor of Medicine and Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine

5:00-6:00 pm

Networking and Poster Session
In partnership with Wilson Sonsini

Event Program & Poster

Event Program

Event Poster

FAQs

Event Location and Directions

We are excited that SDDS 2025 will be held at a new venue:

Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center
326 Galvez Street
Stanford, CA

The venue offers more space for networking, an expanded poster session, and continues the opportunity to hear from leaders in the field of drug discovery.

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Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center

326 Galvez Street
Stanford, CA 94305

Get Directions

Parking Info

Parking is available in the Galvez Lot, located near Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center at Stanford.

To purchase your daily parking permit:

1. Visit https://stanford.aimsparking.com/

2. Select: Purchase Event Permit (see screenshot below)

3. On the next screen, select Reserved Parking Spaces (see screenshot below)

4. On the next screen, scroll down, and select Stanford Drug Discovery Symposium (see screenshot below)

5. On the next screen, enter Voucher Code: SDD429 and click on Apply Voucher (see screenshot below)

6. On the next screen, select Event Daily Galvez Permit (see screenshot below)

7. On the next screen, enter the dates you want the parking permit and click Confirm (see screenshot below)

8. On the next screen, select "Add Vehicle" (see screenshot below)

9. On the next screen, input your vehicle information and click Add. (see screenshot below)

10. On the next screen, click Confirm, read the Terms and Conditions, click Continue.
11. On the next screen, complete the Checkout screen to complete parking permit purchase.

Need more help? Please refer to the How-to-guide

Parking Lot Location:
Galvez lot (L-96) (Parking map here)
296 Galvez St
Stanford, CA 94305

Availability: Parking is on a first come, first served basis; spaces will not be reserved.
Signage: Digital entrance signs will be available and will read: “Reserved for Stanford Drug Discovery Symposium”
Gate hours:
- Gates open at 7 am PT
- Gates close at 6 pm PT
- After 6 pm, vehicles will not be able to enter the lot, but those already parked may still exit using exit gate sensors.

Venue Map

Can I register at the venue?

I have a waitlist ticket, can I still attend?

As was the case with SDDS 2024, if the event reaches full capacity for in-person attendance, we will not be able to accommodate any waitlist ticket requests. You must have a paid ticket to attend in-person. Should this happen, we encourage you to register for virtual attendance. The livestream will be available at starting on Monday, April 28, at 9:00 am PT.

Where can I find my tickets and registration information?

You will receive an email directly from EventBrite that contains your ticket and registration information. Please save this email for future reference and to show at registration. If you are on the waitlist or register to attend virtually, you will receive an email but will not receive a ticket. If you have questions about your registration, please contact cvi_events@stanford.edu.

How much are tickets and what is included?

All in-person registrations include breakfast, lunch, and a networking reception on both days, as well as an event shirt. Registration also includes special pricing on event parking; information to be shared closer to the event. All those registered in-person will also receive our virtual livestreaming link.

In-person Attendance Registration Costs
External (non-Stanford)	Early-Bird – until February 1, 2025	$400
External (non-Stanford)	Standard – as of February 2, 2025	$500
Stanford Faculty	Early-Bird – until February 1, 2025	$150
Stanford Faculty	Standard – as of February 2, 2025	$200
Stanford Trainees	Early-Bird – until February 1, 2025	$100
Stanford Trainees	Standard – as of February 2, 2025	$150

How to I cancel my registration if I cannot attend any more?

We offer a 100% refund rate for cancellations made at least 30 days before the event.
To request a refund, please contact us directly at cvi_events@stanford.edu.
We kindly ask that you reach out to us first rather than disputing the charge with your credit card company, as this ensures a smoother and faster resolution.

What is the poster session and how do I register?

Where can I find key locations at the venue?

Is there a wellness room available at the event

Yes! Please contact event staff at the Questions table for assistance and to show you where the space is located. The wellness room will be a private room with multiple outlets and access to a refrigerator.