Current Events

Conference chairs F. Peter Guengerich, Professor of Biochemistry and the Director of Vanderbilt’s Center in Molecular Toxicology, and Dr. James MacDonald, EVP of Preclinical Development at the Schering-Plough Research Institute, have developed this program to cover the chemical basis of toxicity as it applies to medicinal chemistry. Sessions will be held on reactive metabolites and alternative mechanisms, with an emphasis on specific chemical groups and methods of screening. Numerous case studies will be given throughout the program by scientists from Pfizer, Schering Plough, and Merck, among others. The conference will also cover some newer methods and even future approaches to assessing the toxicity potential of compounds in humans, including “omics” approaches, and will provide a view of the current regulatory environment -- and therefore the level of likely acceptance of those methods.

This 3-day conference provides discovery, medicinal and process chemists with a forum to meet with academia to discuss novel organic synthetic methods useful in research & development. The focus is on key transformations such as carbon-carbon bond forming reactions, oxidation and reduction, formation and reactions of heterocyclic molecules, biotransformations and bioprocessing technologies. There is also one day devoted to chiral technology, focusing on new science and the latest developments in chiral chemistry. Topics include: asymmetric chemocatalysis, biocatalysis, new analytical and separation techniques and the development of important chiral pharmaceuticals.

The field of green chemistry is creating breakthrough innovations that have the potential to revolutionize the pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industries. The 2nd International Symposium on Green Processing in the Pharmaceutical & Fine Chemicals Industries will be held on May 29-30, 2008 at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. The symposium is being organized by world renowned leaders in green chemistry including Paul T. Anastas, Berkeley (Buzz) W. Cue, Jr., and Chao-Jun (CJ) Li. The objective is to bring together experts from academia, government, non-governmental organizations, and industry including technology providers of the pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals industry to share knowledge and challenges with the intention of facilitating collaboration to expedite the integration of green chemistry solutions into these industries. This symposium not only shares applications of green chemistry but it also encourages green chemistry through the supply chain.

This conference brings together chemists and engineers from all parts of the world to discuss issues related to synthetic route design, development and optimization and the scale up of these processes. The invited speakers have been selected to emphasize their company’s approach to these issues with detailed case studies.

The III International Conference on Colloid Chemistry and Physicochemical Mechanics (IC-CCPCM'2008) will take place in Moscow, Russia, from 24th to 28th of June, 2008. Its working languages are English and Russian. The IC-CCPCM'2008 Committee invite papers and presentations on the following topic areas: * Theoretical problems of colloid chemistry and physicochemical mechanics * Electrokinetic phenomena and electric double layer * Surface phenomena and adsorption * Surfactants, foams and emulsions * Capillary and electrochemical phenomena at high temperatures * Nanomaterials, micro- and nanoencapsulation * Colloid chemistry of polymers * The Rehbinder effect, mechanochemistry, rheology of disperse systems * Colloid chemistry and preservation of the environment

The main objective of “Ars Separatoria 2008” is to present and discuss the latest achievements in separation, isolation, purification methods and processes applied in chemistry, industry and environmental protection. The topics of Symposium: membrane separation techniques, phase equilibria, extraction, flotation, chromatography

1. Advanced methods of synthesis and preparation of polymer colloid; novel polymerization procedures, living radical-mediated heterogeneous polymerizations (RAFT, ATRP, etc.); micro and nano-encapsulation processes, polymer/inorganic nanocomposite particles, core-shell microspheres, hollow particles. 2. Nano and microparticles, polymer micelles and vesicles for life sciences, drug delivery and biomedical diagnostics, polyelectrolyte/DNA complexes for gene delivery. Biocompatible/biodegradable particles, dendrimers. Micro and nano technologies in biomedicine. 3. Stimuli-responsive polymer colloids, such as temperature-, pH-, light-sensitive, magnetic and conducting polymer particles, non-spherical particles; characterization of particle surfaces and morphology by various techniques, including electron microscopy, chromatography, light scattering, etc. 4. New trends in industrial applications of polymer colloids in coatings, composite materials, adhesives, paper and textile, etc. Colloidal crystals for optical devices.

Conference chairs Zheng Yang of Bristol-Myers Squibb and Ellen Q. Wang of Pfizer will present the 3rd annual ACS ProSpectives conference on pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD). This conference is specifically designed for medicinal chemists and team leaders directly involved in the discovery and early development of new drugs who want to learn more about PK-PD and applying it to drug design. The 2-day conference will move from the basic concepts and principles of PK-PD to the application of these concepts to drug discovery programs from various therapeutic areas, including,  Neuroscience  Oncology  Immunology  Metabolic diseases Each session will be highlighted with a case study from the medicinal chemistry perspective that demonstrates the value of understanding PK-PD relationships in the design of better drug molecules.

This conference & exhibition is a major international forum for the discussion of technical aspects of scale-up at the chemistry/chemical engineering interface in the pharmaceutical, fine chemical and allied fields. Topics include: the scale-up of batch and semi-batch processes, continuous processing and reaction engineering, microreactor technology, safety and thermochemistry, scale-up of potentially hazardous chemistry, green chemistry, quality assurance and regulatory concerns, solid form control (crystallisation & polymorphism), separation and purification techniques, and new technologies and equipment for large scale manufacture.

The scientific program of the Symposium will cover all aspects of chemistry, biochemistry, biology, and technology of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates.

New conference chairs Pat Confalone of DuPont and Joseph Fortunak of Howard University have developed the 2008 program for the “Process Chemistry in the Pharmaceutical Industry” conference with an emphasis on process R&D and a look into how another industry navigates the issues of commercial ramp up and manufacturing. A number of case studies from the pharmaceutical industry will be given to highlight the challenges and rewards of discovering and developing commercial manufacturing processes for novel therapeutics. The engineering aspects of process R&D, including kinetics, process parameters, process analytical technology, and green chemistry, will also be explored. A half-day will be devoted to presentations from the crop protection sector, where cost of goods is a critical success factor, and practitioners must develop commercial processes within severe cost constraints in the face of complex active ingredient targets. This requires highly convergent syntheses with starting material pricing less than $ 10 / kg, often eliminating several excellent alternative routes for the manufacturing process. Many of the insights from the Agrichemicals industry should prove beneficial to pharmaceutical Process R&D organizations. Though the focus of the conference is on process chemistry currently in practice in industry, as always, noted academics will present their ideas and work on important novel methodologies that will impact process R&D capabilities in the near future.

The birth centenary of Late Dr,S.V.Ananthakrishnan, former professor and head of department of chemistry Madras Christian College falls on 2nd October 2008. We conduct an International Conference “Frontiers in Chemical Sciences”during 2-4 October 2008. Please contact.Dr.R. Wilfred Sugumar , Head, Department of chemistry, Madras Christian College Chennai 600059, India for details e mail: wilfmcc@rediffmail.com

The first ACS ProSpectives conference on translational Biomarkers will be chaired by Dr. Lisa Gold, Executive Director of Merck, and Dr. Paul Galatsis, Associate Research Fellow of Pfizer. Together they have gathered a group of highly regarded pharmaceutical industry and academic scientists who will lecture and present case studies over the course of the two-and-a half-day program. The high attrition rates experienced in Phase II has multiple implications for drug discovery and the pharmaceutical industry in general. This conference is geared specifically for medicinal chemists and focuses on the pathways for developing translational biomarkers. These tools facilitate the translation of preclinical candidates into clinical programs with a greater degree of confidence and have the potential to increase the probability of their success. This program is comprised of three sessions that address key areas of interest for the practicing medicinal chemist. They are:  Translatable target engagement biomarkers (imaging and non-imaging biomarkers)  Mechanism biomarkers, including safety  Clinical biomarkers, including disease biomarkers and regulatory acceptance In each session, four speakers will present on their research addressing and providing their prospective on the session topic. Real life examples will illustrate how the theoretical can be used to address practical issues.

The XIXth Slovak-Czech Spectroscopic Conference (XIXth SCSC) is proceeding with a long term scientific cooperation between both spectroscopic societies. The meetings organized by the Czechoslovak Spectroscopic Society in the past and the continuation in the tradition of the Slovak Spectroscopic Conferences (SSC) will continue as joint events to the future. The last SSC took place in Spišská Nová Ves (Slovakia) in 2006. The aim of the XIXth SCSC is to bring together experts from universities, academia, official centers, various laboratories, and industry on a world-wide scale, to summarize the current progress in different areas of spectroscopy and to stimulate contacts and mutual exchange of experiences and ideas.

This heterocyclic chemistry conference is aimed at industrial chemists in discovery chemistry, process R&D and production. The programme will contain a mix of industrial and academic presentations, focusing on ‘de novo’ synthesis and partial synthesis of heterocyclic compounds along with new synthetic methods and case studies of their application in industrial R&D or manufacture.

The “Topics and Tactics in Current Drug Design” conference will be chaired by Dr. Nicholas A. Meanwell, Executive Director of Discovery Chemistry at Bristol-Myers Squibb Research and Development, and Dr. Milind S. Deshpande, Executive Vice President of Research & Chief Scientific Officer of Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The expeditious and successful development of drug candidates requires a detailed understanding of drug-target interactions and an appreciation for the many off-target sources of drug failure. This ACS Prospectives conference will look broadly at contemporary topics in drug design and discovery by exploring many of the problems commonly faced by medicinal chemists. Each session will emphasize fundamental aspects of drug design, providing comprehensive synopses of the kinds of tactics and strategies that have led to the optimization of drug-target interactions against the backdrop of enhancing drug safety and compound delivery in vivo.

Due to popular demand for a conference dedicated solely to “hardcore” organic synthesis, conference chairs Nick Magnus, Research Advisor in process research at Eli Lilly, and Mo Movassaghi, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at MIT, have invited both academic and industrial speakers to present chemistry in the areas of catalysis, heterocyclic chemistry, asymmetric synthesis, methodology, and total synthesis. The conference will explore strategies that enable the preparation of new pharmaceutical agents, molecular probes, complex natural products, and organic materials. Speakers from major pharmaceutical companies will present case studies that detail the techniques they employed to solve synthesis problems to enable the clinical evaluation of new medicines.