CONFERENCE REPORT
Cell-Penetrating Peptides: Next generation delivery systems
Montpellier, France, 10-12 June 2024
The CPP2024 conference was held at the Botanical Institute in the city center of Montpellier. This conference followed earlier meetings that have taken place in Tallinn (May 2011), Paris (July 2015), and Tartu (August 2018). The meeting has brought together around 80 attendees from 16 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States,) the participants being chemists and biologists from academic and private sectors.
The organizing committee compring Gudrun Aldrian, Prisca Boisguérin, Sébastien Deshayes, Karidia Konate, and Eric Vivès was assisted by Professors Ülo Langel and Sandrine Sagan (scientific committee). The organizing committee received support from the Groupe Français des Peptides et Protéines (GFPP), notably for the website.
The topics of the CPP2024 conference were :
- Design and synthesis of CPPs, peptide-based nanoparticles, and other peptide-based delivery systems
- Biophysical, biochemical and/or cell biology approaches to study their interaction with model and/or biological membranes
- In vivo studies and therapeutic/clinical applications of peptide-based delivery systems
The theme of the meeting was covered by ten plenary lectures, eighteen oral presentations, thirteen flash posters, and two poster sessions. Three intense days were devoted entirely to the science of CPPs, with a special focus on young researchers (PhD students or PostDocs).
The keynote speakers of the CPP2024 meeting were Steven Dowdy (USA), Sarah Jones (UK), Kaido Kurrikoff (Estonia), Tõnis Lehto (Estonia), Ines Neundorf (Germany), Tamas Martinek (Hungary), Hanne M Nielsen (Denmark), Meritxell Teixido (Spain), Astrid Walrant (France), and Christian Widmann (Switzerland).
On the second day, at the end of the scientific sessions, the gala buffet organized at the Botanical Garden – one of the oldest in Europe – was much appreciated by the participants. The event was followed by a musical performance by the group Chic Wah Wah, inviting the audience to dance.
At the same time, the poster price was attributed to Sarah Hansen (FMP Berlin). She received the book “CPP, Cell-Penetrating Peptides – Second Edition” from Prof. Ülo Langel.
The successful organization of such a scientific event can only be achieved with the support of institutional and industrial partners. Without them, the CPP2024 meeting in Montpellier would not have been possible. We wish to say a big “Thank You” to all our private sector partners as well as to the European Peptide Society, the GFPP, the Montpellier Métropole, the Region Occitanie, the University of Montpellier, the LabUM EpiGenMed, the CNRS, and the Inserm.
Finally, the organizing committee is offering a special issue of the Journal of Peptide Science to conference participants for the submission of scientific manuscripts (free of charge) on the subject of CPPs and their application. For further information, please visit this link https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/10991387/homepage/call-for-papers/si-2024-000505