Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), a physical meeting on September 14 and 15 is not possible. The health and safety of our members, speakers and attendees is our number one priorty. Even in the midst of COVID-19, the work cannot stop - we must continue to meet, engage, learn and advance. Therefore, this year's DMD edition will be organized virtually. As always with great attention to topicality and innovation.

The idea is to offer several (1-2 hour livestream) parallel and keynote sessions and time slots for the traditional poster and PhD competion and the Ariëns lecture spread out over the rest of this year.

At FIGON (the integrative platform for innovative drug research in the Netherlands) we highly value good connections between industry, academia and government. Strong interactions between these stakeholders will increase the societal impact of Dutch drug research. DMD is the conference where all parties involved in drug research in the Netherlands present their findings, share new scientific content and strengthen their networks.

This years theme is affordable and sustainable drug development. Many new developments are influencing innovation in our field. Big data and artificial intelligence (AI) open new doors in all stages from drug discovery to clinical practice. Other developments, such as options to intervene at the RNA level, quicker ways to screen promising small molecules, and the pressing need for new antibiotics all speed up innovation. These are exciting times in pharmaceutical sciences. Bringing together all bright minds in this field in the Netherlands - established as well as young researchers - the DMD will create momentum for innovation.

We look forward to welcome you at our virtual DMD sessions!