American Society of Microbiology - 101st General Meeting. 20-24 May 2001, Orlando, FL, USA

Sessions on prokaryotic genomics, bioinformatics, antibiotic resistance, intrinsic antibacterial resistance, and the identification of novel targets were the main highlights of this year's American Society Microbiology (ASM) meeting. In addition, updates on the status of antimicrobial developmental candidates and recently approved agents, were also discussed.     

Therapeutic cancer drugs. 9-10 July 1998, London, UK

In line with the SMi objective of 'linking business with information', this meeting addressed a number of aspects of oncological drug development that must be grappled with by companies that are attempting to build a business in this area. Some of the recurring themes of many of the presentations were summarized by the Chairman, Dr Roy Drucker (Technomark, UK) in his closing remarks. Many of the innovative new anticancer drugs have their origins in start-up companies, but their clinical development is generally in the hands of multinational pharmaceutical companies. Such alliances, while often productive and mutually advantageous, present management challenges. There were concerns expressed that the innovation from biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies might not be matched at the regulatory end. The increasing individualization of treatment is likely to expand in the future through the use of functional genomics tools, that may increase response rates, but will do so at the cost of complicating the development and regulatory process, and will result in an increasingly fragmented market. Cancer medicine is increasingly politicized: there are issues of "who gets what" and "who pays for it". Patient support groups are increasingly expecting to contribute to these decisions. As treatment gets more expensive and complex, the gulf between treatment practices in rich and poor countries widens; nevertheless, many emerging economies are generating a prosperous middle class who will expect first-world standards of care, and present a market opportunity. Finally, pharmaceutical industry management still tend to treat oncology as a poor relation to its more lavishly funded cardiovascular and CNS programs, an attitude that is not entirely market-driven but reflects confusion about this complex and rapidly-changing area.     

Modern Drug Discovery and Development. 18-19 October 2004, San Diego, CA, USA

Industrial and academic experts with diverse backgrounds attended the Modern Drug Discovery and Development conference, organized by GTCbio, a subsidiary of Global Technology Community LLC. The conference covered a broad range of topics in drug discovery and development, including: target discovery and identification, lead discovery and identification, drug metabolism and toxicity, drug process and development, and application of genomics, proteomics, pharmacogenomics and bioinformatics in accelerating drug discovery and development. This report focuses on investigational drugs discussed at the conference.     

Proteolytic enzymes as therapeutic targets - Keystone Symposium. 3-8 February 2002, Keystone, CO, USA

The Keystone Symposium 'Proteolytic Enzymes as Therapeutic Targets' was attended by approximately 150 scientists. Around two-thirds of the participants consisted of representatives from pharmaceutical companies, but representatives from academic institutes dominated the list of speakers. The meeting attracted scientists from many different fields, including biochemistry, molecular biology, structural biology, pharmacology, chemistry, and bioinformatics. The science ranged from the discovery and characterization of novel proteinases to the development and clinical trials of proteinase inhibitors and was presented as posters or in oral sessions. The discussions following the oral presentations were always very animated, but hardly ever heated. Although there were a few new drugs being presented, the real highlight was the enormous potential of recently discovered proteinases as new therapeutic targets. Both pharmaceutical companies and academic institutes are investing in programs to integrate the avalanche of new information coming from functional genomics, proteomics and structural information to create a platform for applied proteinase technology.     

Discovery 99: accelerate and improve the drug discovery process. 26-29 April 1999, San Diego, CA, USA

The stated purpose of this conference was the examination of emerging technologies for drug discovery. The meeting was divided into numerous pre- and post-conferences and tracks. A pre-conference workshop examined enabling software and business strategies. Nine tracks covered natural products, high-throughput screening, bioinformatics, proteomics/functional genomics, pharmacogenomics, combichem, chemoinformatics and assay methods. A post-conference symposium covered ADME-toxicology screening. In short, the gamut of drug discovery.     

How many genomics targets can a portfolio afford?

The pharmaceutical industry can look back at a history of successful innovations. Although genomics technologies have provided drug discovery pipelines with a plethora of new potential drug targets, solid target validation is crucial to avoiding high attrition rates. Biomarkers for patient stratification and approaches for personalized medicine will further help to reduce the risk associated with new targets. To achieve an overall risk balance, portfolios have to be supplemented with precedented targets, me-too approaches and line extensions of existing drugs. However, capitalizing on genomics investments and working on unprecedented targets is essential for a continuous stream of innovative drugs.     

98th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. May 17-21, 1998; Atlanta, GA

The 98th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology was held from May 17-21, 1998, in Atlanta, Georgia and was attended by well over 10,000 scientists. The theme of antibiotic resistance dominated the meeting with numerous presentations on resistance mechanisms, new targets and potential antimicrobial agents. Many new insights into the understanding of microbial physiology were provided. Microbial genomics was shown to be revolutionizing the way in which scientists can probe and explore bacteria and fungi.     

豨莶草化学成分、药理作用及临床应用研究进展

该文对豨莶草的化学成分、药理作用以及临床应用进行了综述。对其三个不同品种豨莶、腺梗豨莶和毛梗豨莶的化学成分进行了比较;并对其在抗炎、镇痛、抗血栓、改善微循环和止痒等方面的药理作用及治疗椎体成形术后残留腰背痛、冠心病、风湿性关节炎等方面的临床应用进行了总结。指出了豨莶草广泛的研究开发和临床应用价值。     

American Society of Microbiology - 100th General Meeting

Symposium sessions on genomics, surveillance, and pharmaceutical intervention opportunities were highlights of this annual ASM meeting. Two-component signal transduction was highlighted by both academic and industrial representatives, as was prokaryotic genomics. Recurring themes throughout the meeting were the contribution of efflux mechanisms to worldwide resistance, target modifications responsible for fluoroquinolone resistance, and the role of structural biology in the discovery and exploitation of bacterial targets.     

The Medicinal and Bioorganic Chemistry Foundation--third winter conference. 23-29 January 1999, Steamboat Springs, CO, USA

This was the third of an ongoing series of biennial conferences held in a relaxed setting, where medicinal chemists congregated to discuss recent enabling developments in organic-medicinal chemistry and biological findings of relevance to the selection of promising drug targets. Approximately 240 academic, industrial and government scientists gathered for this 5-day symposium devoted to optimization in chemical synthesis, methodologies for parallel array medicinal chemistry, applications of structural biology to drug discovery, impact of genomics technologies on pharmaceutical research, and multidrug resistance (MDR). In addition, a keynote address was delivered by Steven Hanessian (University of Montreal, Canada) on "Synthesis... Where do we go from here?" Sixteen oral presentations were delivered and eight papers were presented in a poster session. The plenary lectures are to be published later this year in special issues of Medicinal Research Reviews.     

Proteomics--IBC's Second International Conference. Practical applications of protein based tools for drug discovery. 11-12 June 1998, Coronado, CA, USA

The Human Genome Project began in 1988 when the US Congress appropriated funds to both the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to obtain the entire sequence of human DNA. More than a dozen prokaryotic and one eukaryotic genomes have now been completely sequenced, and the human genome should be completed within a few short years, either by the US Government-backed US $3 billion coalition of academic and contract centers, or the recently-announced for-profit venture of Dr J Craig Venter, former president of TIGR, Rockville, MD, USA, in conjunction with Perkin-Elmer Corporation. As the human genome sequencing effort approaches its conclusion, attention in the drug industry is beginning to shift to the proteins that actually carry out functional activities. This conference brought together many experts in proteomics, a burgeoning sub-specialty of functional genomics. Approximately 150 scientists attended from academia and the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.     

Functional Genomics Conference: From Identifying Proteins to Faster Drug Discovery. March 10-11, 1998, Washington DC, USA

The massive effort to sequence the human, mouse, rat, nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans), fruit fly (Drosophila), zebra fish, yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), fungal (Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus) and several bacterial genomes has produced a flood of sequence data. Of the more than 100,000 human genes and thousands from other organisms, many partial sequences and several completed microbial genomes are available in both public and private databases. However, elucidation of function has been achieved for only a very small portion and an even smaller percentage have been validated as drug targets. Many companies interested in identifying new drug targets also see this bounty of opportunity as a major challenge. The raw sequence data say little about the importance of the gene and nothing about its potential as a target for drug discovery. Since 1994, a new term, 'functional genomics', has entered our lexicon. Functional genomics, which in effect is 'high-throughput biology', was originally focused on understanding gene function by studying the genes of simpler organisms, such as the nematode, C. elegans. As the genes from a number of organisms are highly conserved across species, it is believed that studying these basic systems can yield valuable insights for drug companies interested in targeting therapeutics for the higher organisms. More recently, the approach to functional genomics has expanded to include study of gene function in organisms to be targeted for therapeutic intervention. This new approach was the theme of the Functional Genomics Conference: From Identifying Proteins to Faster Drug Discovery held in Washington DC on March 10 and 11, 1998. The organisers (NMHCC) hoped that the breadth of the conference topics would reflect the complexities of the modern drug discovery process and covered technologies from gene chips, bioinformatics, disease models, protein discovery and expression, target validation, high-throughput screening for genes of unknown function, to integration of the drug discovery process. The two day conference placed emphasis on cutting edge technology solutions and the development of high-throughput tools to address the emerging opportunities in genome-based drug discovery.     

Royal Society of Chemistry & The Biochemical Society's International Symposium on Functional Genomics: From Gene to Commercial Reality?

All aspects of genomics were covered during the meeting from gene identification and characterisation to the exploitation of genomic targets. Speakers highlighted the strategies used together with recent examples, indicating the advantages together with disadvantages of the methodologies utilised.     

Royal Society of Chemistry and The Biochemical Society's international symposium on functional genomics: from gene to commercial reality? September 19-22, 1999, Ambleside, UK

All aspects of genomics were covered during the meeting from gene identification and characterization to exploitation of genomic targets. Speakers highlighted the strategies used together with recent examples, indicating the advantages together with the disadvantages of the methodologies used.     

New therapeutic targets in immune disorders: ItpkB,Orai1 and UNC93B

Background: Sequencing of the murine and human genomes has enabled large-scale functional genomics approaches to target identification. This holds the promise of drastically accelerating target discovery. Moreover, by providing an initial validation coincident with target identification, cell based cDNA or small interfering RNA (siRNA) screens and in particular genome-wide in vivo approaches, including forward or reverse genetics and analyses of natural gene polymorphisms, can move the relatively late step of target validation to the beginning of the process, reducing the risk of pursuing targets with little in vivo relevance. Objective: We critically discuss the value of combining functional genomics with traditional approaches for accelerating target identification and validation. Methods: We evaluate the potentials of inositol (1,4,5)trisphosphate 3-kinase B (ItpkB), Orai1 and UNC93B, three particularly interesting proteins that were recently identified through functional genomics, as targets in immune disorders. Results/conclusion: Combining functional genomics with traditional approaches can accelerate target discovery and validation, but requires a follow-up platform that integrates and analyzes all relevant data for assessment of the clinical potential of the growing number of novel targets.     

Strategic Research Institute--first international siRNA conference. Prospect for new therapeutics and commercial opportunities for pharma and biotech. 24-25 March 2003, LaJolla,CA, USA

Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), with their power to selectively silence genes, have gained much attention from biotech and pharmaceutical companies and investors. Key players in the field, from innovative biotech start-ups to big pharmaceutical companies, gathered at Strategic Research Institute's First International siRNA conference in the scenic Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines. Topics addressed ranged from the latest technology advances and applications of RNA interference (RNAi) in drug discovery, to critical business issues such as intellectual property portfolio strategy and market prospects. While RNAi is indisputably accepted as a powerful tool in target validation and functional genomics, the concept of an siRNA drug is still viewed by big pharma companies as next-generation therapeutics. Yet challenges seem tractable. Several companies, such as Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals Inc, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Intradigm Corp, are working hard to prove that the bigger companies are being too conservative. The conference provided a clear vision of RNAi in drug discovery today, its potential and remaining challenges.     

Diabetes: the latest developments in inhibitors, insulin sensitisers, new drug targets and novel approaches. October 18-19, 2004, The Hatton, London, UK

The 6th annual conference on diabetes, organised by the SMI group, was held on 18th-19th October 2004 in London, followed by a one-day symposium on an executive briefing entitled Type 2 diabetes and beyond: the untapped commercial potential. More than 100 delegates from both academic and industrial institutes attended the two meetings. The presentations provided insights into the understanding of mechanisms and developments of novel drugs for treatments of insulin resistance, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, as well as new approaches for therapeutic intervention including the development of dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 analogues. This review offers a general overview of the fields in metabolic diseases and different strategies to develop new drugs. Discussions focused on several emerging therapeutic areas, including novel compound developments and target identification with the use of conventional methods and recently emerged technologies, such as siRNA, genomics and proteomics.     

38th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), September 24-27, 1998, San Diego,CA, USA

This year’s ICAAC meeting was dominated by exciting late-stage development antibiotics that represent breakthroughs in covering pathogens of unmet medical need, including drug-resistant pathogens. There are several exciting antibiotics in late-stage development, among them, linezolid, gatifloxacin, moxifloxacin, SB-265805, HMR 3647, SCH27899 and the resurrected daptomycin. The development of new technology for screening and the cross-application into genomics have led to numerous breakthroughs in techniques and strategies for the identification of novel prokaryotic targets.     

38th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), September 24-27, 1998, San Diego, CA, USA

This year's ICAAC meeting was dominated by exciting late-stage development antibiotics that represent breakthroughs in covering pathogens of unmet medical need, including drug-resistant pathogens. There are several exciting antibiotics in late-stage development, among them, linezolid, gatifloxacin, moxifloxacin, SB-265805, HMR 3647, SCH27899 and the resurrected daptomycin. The development of new technology for screening and the cross-application into genomics have led to numerous breakthroughs in techniques and strategies for the identification of novel prokaryotic targets.     

Costs and Benefits of Genomics Patents

Genomics patents are controversial on religious, ethical, legal, and economic grounds. An economic approach is desirable for valuing the patent system generally, and genomics patents in particular, in terms of its stated constitutional objective, which is to 'promote progress'. Several types of criticisms and warnings have been issued regarding the suitability of genomics inventions for patent protection; here these are evaluated in the context of more general concerns about the efficacy of the patent system. As with the patent system more generally, it is difficult to specify an alternative mechanism for producing inventions that has attributes (such as decentralized resource allocation, speed of therapeutic discovery, and financing by beneficiaries) that are predictable enough to serve as a benchmark against which to judge the current regime, which is dominated by genomics patents. The current patent regime can be expected to produce commercializable therapies reasonably reliably, while many proposed alternatives hearken back to a regime that did not produce commercializable therapies with as great speed or variety. Therefore, the onus appears to lie on the critics to create a model with the desirable properties of the patent system, but with fewer of its acknowledged weaknesses, such as 'monopoly' pricing and 'patent thickets'.