Prof. Iwan de Esch obtained a PhD degree from VU University Amsterdam and subsequently performed postdoctoral research in the Drug Design Group at the University of Cambridge (UK). In 2000, De Esch co-founded De Novo Pharmaceuticals Ltd where he worked as a group leader and project leader. He returned to academia in 2003 and became a professor in the Division of Medicinal Chemistry at VU University. The group is developing and using Fragment-Based Drug Design (FBDD) approaches to target various protein classes, including G protein-coupled receptors, enzymes and protein-protein interactions. In addition to identifying leads, the group has ample experience in lead optimization. Dr. de Esch also became a co-founder of the spin-offs IOTA Pharmaceuticals Ltd (2007) and Griffin Discoveries BV (2009). In 2011, he was awarded the Galenus Research Price for his work on fragment-based drug discovery.