Conference Report: The 2016 Olten Meeting at the Basel Life Science Week.

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." This was an internal memo written by Western Union in 1876. That's right. Without efficient knowledge sharing and technology transfer, even the best scientific development may prove to be a damp squib for a long time. The Basel Life Science Week was created in order to promote scientific and economic exchange and pave the way for innovative ideas. That's why NTN Swiss Biotech has moved its traditional 'Olten Meeting' to the Basel Life Science Week. It is the ideal setting for NTN Swiss Biotech and the School of Life Sciences FHNW to present innovative developments within its network of academic and industrial partners in the future-oriented disciplines of Molecular Diagnostics and Medicinal Chemistry. Short summaries of the key lectures are reported below.