Organized by the Adolphe Quetelet Society (Belgian Region, IBS) in collaboration with the Non-Clinical Statistics working group of the German Region (IBS) and the Biostatistics Section of the Belgian Statistical Society

Statistical Methods for Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development

Leuven, Belgium on September 23-25, 2008

Welcome !

NCS2008 celebrates the 10-year anniversary of this conference fully devoted to Non-Clinical Statistics. To be really accurate, we should say 12 years, because the initiative of organizing a cycle of these very specialized workshops was taken right after the success of the first conference. That conference, entitled "Biostatistics in toxicology" was organized in Brugge by one of the members of the current NCS2008 committee. Therefore it was quite natural to return to Belgium, its birthplace, to celebrate a decade of what has become since then a "gold-standard" in the field and a mandatory meeting for most of you coming from all parts of the world.

Beyond the great talks and discussions we had it has been an opportunity to visit marvellous places across Europe: 1998 in Nice, France; 2000 in Montreux, Switzerland; 2002 in Barcelona, Spain; 2004 in Dublin, Ireland and 2005 in Nice again. All those conferences were organized under the label "Statistical Methodology in Non-Clinical R&D". After the mixed success of the 2005 workshop, most "honorary" members of the organizing committee got the feeling it was time to give a new impulse to this cycle. Thanks to Ludwig and Richardus who took the initiative to organize, in the frame of the Deutsche Biometrische Gesellschaft, the "Non-Clinical Statistics Conference" in September 2006 in Potsdam, Germany. This was a largely recognized success that gave birth to a new spirit and a new "brand name".

On behalf of the organizing committee of this conference on non-clinical statistics, we have the pleasure to welcome you to Leuven, Belgium. Thank you all for your trust and the response you gave to this invitation! We hope that this meeting will be for each of you an opportunity to meet and share your experiences around stimulating scientific themes.

With their financial contribution, the Fond National de la Recherche Scientifique, Fond voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek and the German Region of the International Biometrics Society recognized the scientific value of this conference. Private sponsors also indicated their interests in the topics covered and have given their financial support to the event. We thank them warmly for this support which will contribute to the success of this event: Arlenda, International Drug Development Institute, J&J Pharmaceutical Research and Development, SAS-Institute, and UCB Pharma.

We wish you a pleasant stay in the city of Leuven !

Luc Bijnens and Bruno Boulanger

The meeting will be held in the ancient historical site of the Grand Beguinage that was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in March 2000. The Faculty Club (www.facultyclub.be) that is linked to the KUL (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) manages a part of this unique complex including excellent conference facilities and a medieval garden located within the old town of Leuven.

The registration to the conference is now closed since the maximum capacity of 120 participants of the conference venue is reached.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any suggestions or questions regarding our Non-Clinical Statistics conference.