Full-length antibodies have captured a significant fraction of the biopharmaceuticals market but are not without their limitations. Antibody fragments provide the opportunity for new therapeutic and diagnostic possibilities by combining beneficial features of full-length antibodies with some of the advantages of small molecules.

Over the past few years, there has been growing excitement in both scientific and commercial communities in single domain antibodies, including Nanobodies®, human V domains (dAbs) and shark V-NAR due to their intrinsic properties including their small size, robustness, ease of manufacturing, potential to generate multivalent and multispecific constructs and especially the potential to target molecules that are outside the reach of classical antibodies.

Today, single domain antibodies have come of age with an increasing number in preclinical and clinical development and are anticipated to significantly expand the repertoire of antibody-based therapeutics and to become the next generation of antibody-based biologics.

The global aim of this first Symposium focused solely on single domain antibody technologies is to create a forum that allows for researchers of different disciplines, and from academic and industry backgrounds to discuss the latest evolutions in the field of single domain antibodies and will encompass all the spectrum of research from basic innovation through to clinical development.

This two-day Symposium will be a mixture of poster and oral presentations and will also provide opportunities for in depth-discussions and networking.

We warmly welcome you and your colleagues to join us and to actively participate in the first Symposium of “Single Domain Antibodies Come Of Age”, which will take place in Ghent on 14-15 October 2010.