Singapore, 8 September 2011 - The Royal Society of Chemistry, in collaboration with Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)’s Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES), GlaxoSmithKline R&D (GSK) and with support from the British High Commission in Singapore, is organising a symposium on “Contemporary Strategies and Practices in Medicinal Chemistry” to bring together researchers from the United Kingdom and Singapore to discuss current progress and challenges within the field of medicinal chemistry.
The one-day symposium is held under the "UK-Singapore Partners in Science" Programme and includes lectures by experts from the pharmaceutical industry such as the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, S*BIO, AstraZeneca and Beatson Institute for Cancer Research and leading academic and research centres such as the University of Leeds, the University of Nottingham and the National University of Singapore.
HE Antony Phillipson, British High Commissioner to Singapore, commented: "This symposium is a good opportunity for those who have an interest in medicinal chemistry to come together to share knowledge and to benefit from each other's experience. It provides a platform for UK and Singaporean researchers to develop collaborations and build up scientific capacity in South East Asia."
Medicinal chemistry lies at the critical interface between biology and chemistry and plays an integral part of the drug discovery process. The symposium will focus on the current challenges faced by medicinal chemists and feature expert speakers from both the pharmaceutical/biotech industry and leading academic research institutes. The scientific programme will cover some of the very latest chemistry approaches to drug discovery including fragment based hit identification, the application of Click Chemistry**, the systematic exploration of chemical space, new approaches to the optimisation of pharmacokinetic and toxicological properties, and progress towards the development of new treatments of cancer and dengue. In addition to the scientific lectures there will also be a poster session. The free symposium is aimed at researchers in industry and academia, including graduate students and will provide participants with an excellent opportunity to meet and network with potential collaborators.
The invited speakers in this symposium are:
Prof. Martin J Drysdale - Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow, UK
Prof. Adam Nelson - University of Leeds, UK
Dr. Ed Griffen – AstraZeneca, UK
Dr. John E Moses - University of Nottingham, UK
Assoc. Prof. Young-Tae Chang – National University of Singapore, Singapore
Dr. Anthony William - S*BIO, Singapore
Dr. Sebastian Sonntag – Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, Singapore
Dr. Simon Teague, Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, Singapore
Please find attached the symposium programme and visits to the GSK, Novartis and ICES facilities at Biopolis for the speakers. Admission to the symposium is free but pre-registration is required. Online registration is open at www.ices.a-star.edu.sg.
Media representatives are invited to this symposium. For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms Hera Adam
Science and Engineering Institutes
for Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences
Tel: +65 6796 3894
Fax: +65 6873 4805
Email: [email protected]
Enclosures:
Annex A: Symposium Programme
Annex B: Biographies & Abstracts of Speakers
** Click chemistry is a sensible approach towards chemical synthesis, which relies upon a selection of robust and simple reactions. It enables the rapid and modular synthesis of complex structures in a convenient and user friendly way.
About GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
GlaxoSmithKline – one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better, and live longer. For company information, visit GlaxoSmithKline at http://www.gsk.com.
About the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Since 1841, the RSC has been the leading learned society and professional body for chemical scientists and we are committed to ensuring that an enthusiastic, innovative and thriving scientific community is in place to face the future. The RSC has a global membership of more than 47,500 and is actively involved in the spheres of education, qualifications and professional conduct. It runs conferences and meetings for chemical scientists, industrialists and policy makers at both international and local level. It is a major publisher of scientific books and journals, the majority of which are held in the Library and Information Centre in Burlington House, Piccadilly, central London. In all its work, the RSC is objective and impartial, and is recognised throughout the world as an authoritative voice of chemistry and the chemical sciences. For more information, visit http://www.rsc.org.
About the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES)
Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) is a member of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). Established in 2002, its mission is to carry out world class scientific research, to develop novel technology and to nurture creative scientists and engineers to support economic growth in Singapore and to make a positive difference to society. The research area covers chemistry and chemical engineering science, combined with advanced analytical characterisation and measurement to develop state of the art technology for the petrochemical, general chemical, fine chemical and pharmaceutical industries. For more information, visit www.ices.a-star.edu.sg
About UK-Singapore Partners in Science Initiative
HRH The Duke of York launched the UK-Singapore Partners in Science Initiative in November 2004. The initiative was given further impetus when the British and Singaporean Prime Ministers signed a statement on science, engineering and technology in July 2005. This committed the UK and Singapore to develop scientific collaborations and networks through thematic workshops, and working jointly to build up scientific capacity in South East Asia. Many workshops have been held on subjects such as immunology, aquaculture, aerospace engineering, physical organic chemistry microelectronics etc leading to numerous collaborations between UK and Singaporean researchers.
