The interplay of biological activity and chemical structure is a highly intriguing problem for all scientists involved in the study of bioactive compounds. In the recent past, a number of international symposia on this subject have been held. In 1977 the Medicinal Chemistry Division of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society organized one symposium which became the first of a series known as the Noordwijkerhout Symposia on Medicinal Chemistry. The second and the third symposia took place in 1981 and 1985, respectively. In 1978 the Medicinal Chemistry Division of the Italian Chemical Society organized in Camerino a meeting of chemists and biologists in the receptor field, deliberately putting the emphasis both on chemical and biological aspects of receptor research. This symposium became the first of a series known as the Camerino Symposia on Receptor Chemistry. The second took place in 1983. In 1987, as the number of symposia seemed to be increasing and a risk of overlap between the different programs was becoming a real threat, the organizers of the Noordwijkerhout (The Netherlands) and of the Camerino (Italy) series of symposia decided to start cooperating closely. This cooperation ensured that since then every two years a Camerino or a Noordwijkerhout Symposium has taken place (1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007) in Camerino and (1989, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2009) in Noordwijkerhout.
Likewise under the auspices of the European Federation of Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC), the first Cyprus Symposium was convened in Limassol, Cyprus in 1983. In 2007 it was decided to join the efforts of the Camerino-Noorwijkerhout team and those of the Cyprus group in such a way that each year a symposium in one of the three venues have been organized. The 33rd symposium was held in 2016 in Camerino (Italy).
We look forward to meeting you in Camerino next time.