Elsa Liu

Technical Director
Eurofins Panlabs Discovery Services Taiwan, Ltd.

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Elsa Liu is the Technical Director of Eurofins Panlabs Discovery Services. She holds a Master’s degree in Physiology from National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, and has more than 14 years of experience in drug discovery within the CRO industry.
 
Her work focuses on the development of in vitro assays and supporting global clients in building customized drug discovery platforms. Her areas of expertise include target profiling, mechanism-of-action studies, safety pharmacology, and translational cell models for neuroscience, oncology, and metabolic disorders.
 
Throughout her career, she has worked with over 50 international pharmaceutical and biotech companies, helping them design and implement customized assay platforms and integrated screening strategies.​
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Speech title & Synopsis

Building Better Brain Drugs: Key Considerations in Early CNS Drug Discovery

Developing effective and safe CNS-targeted drugs remains one of the most challenging areas in drug discovery. Beyond identifying novel targets, researchers must also address the unique biological complexity of the central nervous system—where on-target engagement does not always guarantee therapeutic success, and safety liabilities often elude detection in traditional preclinical animal models.
 
This talk will explore the critical role of in vitro assays in early-stage CNS drug discovery, including receptor binding, functional assay, and translational cell models. In addition, we will discuss why CNS safety remains difficult to predict using standard preclinical approaches and how early profiling strategies can help uncover potential liabilities before advancing to in vivo studies.
 
Whether you are involved in research or leading drug discovery efforts in biotech or pharmaceutical companies, this session provides practical insights into designing CNS discovery strategies that integrate mechanistic understanding with early safety considerations.