Conference report: summary of the 2010 Applied Pharmaceutical Analysis Conference.

This year, the Applied Pharmaceutical Analysis meeting changed its venue to the Grand Tremont Hotel in Baltimore, MD, USA. Proximity to Washington presented the opportunity to have four speakers from the US FDA. The purpose of the 4-day conference is to provide a forum in which pharmaceutical and CRO scientists can discuss and develop best practices for scientific challenges in bioanalysis and drug metabolism. This year's theme was 'Bioanalytical and Biotransformation Challenges in Meeting Global Regulatory Expectations & New Technologies for Drug Discovery Challenges'. Applied Pharmaceutical Analysis continued its tradition of highlighting new technologies and its impact on drug discovery, drug metabolism and small molecule-regulated bioanalysis. This year, the meeting included an integrated focus on metabolism in drug discovery and development. Middle and large molecule (biotherapeutics) drug development, immunoassay, immunogenicity and biomarkers were also integrated into the forum. Applied Pharmaceutical Analysis offered an enhanced diversity of topics this year while continuing to share experiences of discovering and developing new medicines.