I am Akira Otaka from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at Tokushima University. I have been appointed chairperson for the 42nd Medicinal Chemistry Symposium, which will be held in Tokushima from Tuesday, November 18th, to Thursday, November 20th, 2025.

Since its inception in 1979, the Medicinal Chemistry Symposium has built a long history and has been a driving force in developing medicinal chemistry in Japan. Over the years, numerous groundbreaking drugs have been created by various research institutions and companies in Japan, and I believe this symposium has contributed significantly to these achievements. There are limited opportunities for researchers in the field of medicinal chemistry to gather in one place, share their research findings on drug discovery and related technologies, and engage in in-depth discussions. The Medicinal Chemistry Symposium provides such a platform, contributing to the enhancement of Japan's drug discovery capabilities and the advancement of related research fields while also serving as a valuable opportunity for networking.

For the 42nd symposium, we have set the key message as "AI × Drug Discovery: Infinite Possibilities!? Exploring the Future of Drug Discovery Unveiled by Nobel Prize Research." It is still fresh in our memories that last year's Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry were awarded for AI-related research. Although I am unfamiliar with AI, as a peptide and protein chemistry specialist, I had the opportunity to explore "AlphaFold," one of the awarded topics. It was imposing. The combination of AI and drug discovery holds infinite potential, and I believe it is a significant theme to address. However, we must not neglect the integration of the broad range of fields that have been traditionally pursued. There is no doubt that AI will bring about a transformation in the way diverse fields are integrated, elevating drug discovery research to a new stage.

At the 42nd Medicinal Chemistry Symposium, we hope to showcase cutting-edge research findings and provide opportunities for their integration. In the invited lectures, we plan to have key opinion leaders in the field, as well as researchers who have produced noteworthy research results, deliver their presentations. In the award lectures, we will also have presentations from the Medicinal Chemistry Division Award recipients and the 41st Medicinal Chemistry Symposium Excellence Award. Furthermore, we are planning an award lecture by Dr. Angela Koehler from MIT, who received the Sato International Memorial Award.

We invite researchers from companies and universities advancing the latest research to present their findings for general oral and poster presentations. Continuing from the previous symposium, we will have the Medicinal Chemistry Division MCS Excellence Award and the Newcomer Award for undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, we have established the "BMC/BMCL Award" supported by Elsevier's Bioorganic Medicinal Chemistry (BMC) and Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters (BMCL), as well as the "ACS Publications Medicinal Chemistry Award" supported by ACS.
We look forward to many entries.

As always, we are planning numerous corporate exhibits. By directly interacting with company representatives about the equipment and services essential for daily research, we hope you will deepen your understanding of the products and services, thereby accelerating and enhancing the quality of your research.

We will make every effort to meet your expectations. Although the symposium will be held in Tokushima, away from the Kanto and Kansai regions, access is convenient, and we look forward to your participation.