Understanding biologic drug activity is focus of interdisciplinary symposium
Biological products have become increasingly important in the treatment of many complex diseases, and that is particularly so for therapeutic proteins, which will be the central focus for an interdisciplinary Symposium that will take place in Baltimore, Md., March 22-23. In the last two to three decades, during which these complex biologic therapies have been developed and advanced as viable treatments, the analytical tools used to understand and enhance their therapeutic capabilities have greatly improved.
The meeting is hosted by four sponsoring organizations, all of which are keenly invested in analytical technology developments related to therapeutic proteins. Key representatives from the sponsoring institutions present at the Symposium will include Dr. Peter Swaan, associate dean of research, on behalf of Dr. Natalie Eddington, dean of the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy; Dr. Willie May, associate director of laboratory programs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology; Dr. John Fourkas, Millard Alexander Professor, on behalf of Dr. Michael Doyle, chair of the department of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Maryland, College Park; and Dr. Roger Williams, chief executive officer of the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP).
Over the course of two days, the Symposium will be divided into three sessions:
- Protein engineering and proteomics
- Next-generation tools for protein development and process analytics
- Next-generation analyses for well-characterized biologic products
In addition to speakers from the sponsoring organizations, presenters will include representatives from such organizations as the University of Virginia; the University of Toronto; OncoMed; Human Genome Sciences; MedImmune; the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.
The Symposium will specifically focus on the next generation of technologies used to characterize novel therapeutic protein drug candidates, as well as newly licensed biologics and legacy biologics that have been on the market for some time. Keynote speakers for the event include Dr. Charles Craik, professor in the departments of pharmaceutical chemistry, cellular and molecular pharmacology, and biochemistry/biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco; Dr. Robert Bailey, principal scientist in product and process development at Amgen; and Dr. Steven Berkowitz, principal investigator in analytical development at Biogen Idec.
Researchers from all relevant scientific disciplines in industry, academe and government interested in the analysis and characterization of therapeutic proteins are encouraged to attend. Because many different scientific disciplines have contributed to advancing analytic techniques, Symposium sponsors are extending their reach beyond the fields of biologics and biotechnology. Registration information and a full meeting agenda are available at: http://www.usp.org/meetings-courses/workshops/interdisciplinary-symposium-therapeutic-proteins.
According to Dr. Williams, "The discovery and development of therapeutic proteins are not limited to technologies and tools gained only through biotechnology. Cellular biology, analytical chemistry, biochemistry, physics and other scientific disciplines have made significant contributions to the growth of this exciting field. Exploring the latest in interdisciplinary approaches to characterization and analysis can help advance our thinking about quality standards for these emerging therapies." Williams added, "I am personally gratified that USP has been able to join two distinguished members of our Convention—the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology—in such an important effort."
Provided by US Pharmacopeia
