The third biennial Nonclinical Biostatistics Conference will be hosted by Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, from October 15–17. The conference was created to provide a venue for technical presentations, professional growth, and recognition for those statisticians engaged in nonclinical statistics. The conference brings together experts from academia, industry, and regulatory agencies to discuss timely and important topics related to the discovery, development, and production of biopharmaceutical products. The theme of the conference is “Nonclinical Statistics: Improving Pharmaceutical Discovery, Development, and Manufacturing.”

The keynote address will be delivered by Douglas Throckmorton, deputy director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. ASA President Marie Davidian will speak on Tuesday evening, followed by a special reception in her honor.

The conference will begin with two parallel short courses: Strategies for Accelerating Formulation Development, taught by Ron Snee of Snee Associates, and Applied Bayesian Statistics for Nonclinical Areas: From Theory to Examples with Programming, taught by Bruno Boulanger of Arlenda.

There will be three tracks with sessions on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday and Thursday morning. The three tracks are Discovery/Pharmacology/-omics, organized by a committee headed by Jason Manro of Eli Lilly; Safety/Toxicology/Preclinical, organized by a committee headed by James Chen of the Food and Drug Administration; and Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls, organized by a committee headed by Kim Vukovinsky of Pfizer.

Each track will consist of three invited and four contributed speakers spread throughout the three days. Invited speakers will have 45 minutes and contributed speakers 30 minutes. Participants will have ample opportunity to ask questions and participate in discussions with leaders in the field. Additional opportunities to meet speakers and network with colleagues will be afforded at the Tuesday reception, Wednesday evening mixer, and the lunch roundtables and poster presentation session.

The website is open for abstract submissions by prospective presenters of both oral presentations and posters. Abstracts must be submitted by June 10. Details about cost and housing are available on the website.

Students are especially encouraged to participate in conference activities. To help financially, limited scholarships are available to students, with preference given to those who present posters. The best student poster, as judged by a committee, will receive a special award of $250. Students interested in applying for scholarships should visit the website for information.

For additional information, contact Paul Lupinacci at info@NCB2013.org.