Darrell Henze
Executive Director Merck & Co., Inc.
Seminars
Wednesday 27th January 2027
Multi-Omic Endotyping of Chronic Pain: Leveraging Proteomic & Metabolomic Signatures for Biomarker Discovery & Patient Stratification
11:30 am
- Defining biologically distinct pain endotypes through integrated proteomic and metabolomic profiling
- Identifying molecular pathways associated with pain severity, progression, and treatment response
- Developing translatable biomarkers to improve patient selection and clinical trial design
- Utilizing human multi-omic datasets to inform target identification and therapeutic development
Thursday 28th January 2027
Panel Discussion: How Will the Next Generation of Sodium Channel Therapies Differentiate in Pain?
9:30 am
- Following the first approval of a NaV1.8 inhibitor, where do the greatest opportunities for differentiation lie across NaV1.8, NaV1.7, NaV1.9 and other emerging sodium channel targets in acute, chronic and neuropathic pain?
- How should developers balance efficacy, safety, tolerability, tissue selectivity, CNS penetration and dosing convenience when designing next-generation sodium channel therapies?
- Is meaningful improvement now more likely to come through better molecule design, target engagement and patient selection, or through targeting different sodium channel subtypes and pain mechanisms?
- Which pain populations are most likely to benefit from specific sodium channel approaches, and how can developers better match mechanism to underlying disease biology and pain phenotype?
Thursday 28th January 2027
Fireside Chat: What Will Pharma Buy Next in Pain?
4:30 pm
- Assess how recent transactions, including Lilly’s acquisitions of SiteOne Therapeutics and 4E Therapeutics, and AbbVie’s licensing agreement with Haisco Pharmaceutical, are reshaping partnering and investment priorities across pain
- Define the translational, clinical and commercial evidence packages required to progress from early interest to competitive deal activity
- Explore which mechanisms, indications and patient populations are attracting the strongest external interest, from NaV1.8 inhibitors and peripheral targets through to neuroimmune and disease-modifying approaches
- Identify what differentiates a partnerable pain asset today, including target validation, patient selection strategy, clinical positioning and commercial potential
