Randy Blakely, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Richard B. Kim, University of Western Ontario

Munir Pirmohamed, University of Liverpool

Kevin Park, University of Liverpool

Brian K. Kobilka, Stanford University

Jean-Philippe Pin, University of Montpellier

Jesper Hallas, University of Southern Denmark

Bert Leufkens, Professor, University of Utrecht

Markus Heilig, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH

Yavin Shaham, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH

Leif Groop, Malmoe University

Henning Beck-Nielsen, Odense, Denmark

Jan-Erik Henriksen, Odense University Hospital

David Nutt, Bristol University

Birte Glenthøj, University of Copenhagen

Ricky Man, University of Hong Kong

Tai-Ping Fan, University of Cambridge

Paul Vanhoutte, University of Hong Kong

Zhi-bin Lin, Beijing University

Arthur Weston, University of Manchester

François Giuliano, Garches

Karl-Erik Andersson, Winston-Salem, USA

Vincent Laudet, University of Lyon

Nick Franks, Imperial College, London

Clifford Wolf, Harvard University

W. Catterall, University of Washington, USA

F. Ashcroft, University of Oxford, UK

Bernard Rossier, University of Lausanne, Switzerland

Ingrid Scheffler (Australia)

Richard Olsen, UCLA

Challenges in modern gastrointestinal pharmacology: From functional disorders to neoplastic diseases

1-day conference

C.H. Cho,
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

D. Chen, University of Trondheim

P. Andrews, St George's Hospital, London

Eeva Moilanen, Tampere, Finland

Ian Adcock, London, UK

Frans Nijkamp, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Michael Sanguinetti, University of Utah, USA,

Clinical pharmacology in the emerging countries

The first WHO Model List of Essential Drugs was published in 1977. Despite many efforts, problems of access to quality drugs and rational use persist in the lesser developed part of the World. Thus, it is likely that in the poorest parts of Africa and Asia more than half the population still lacks access to essential drugs. And there are new challenges that may have an impact on access, such as the expansion of the private sector’s role in pharmaceuticals, health sector reforms and the effects of globalization. The changing pattern of diseases, antimicrobial resistance and emerging new diseases are other factors. Particularly important is the current trend of governments to reduce health care spending because of inadequate resources, despite increasing health needs. Thus this conference will focus on the role of clinical pharmacology in the developing countries with regard to access to essential medicines and the rational use of drugs. It will also deal with clinical research and pharmacovigilance and the treatment of infectious diseases.

Transmembrane transport: Perspectives for disease and drug discovery

Transmembrane transporters are targets for a broad variety of drugs used for treatment of several different diseases including e.g. depression, anxiety, epilepsy and obesity. Moreover, transmembrane transporters play a key role in uptake, delivery and excretion of drugs. The present conference will cover the most recent developments in the field with emphasis on structure, molecular pharmacology, cellular function, molecular genetics and pharmacogenetics.

Maximising benefits and minimizing harms from drugs

BPS Conference
Drug safety remains a major issue both for academia, healthcare and industry. This is evidenced by recent high profile drug withdrawals, and the high burden posed by ADRs on healthcare. There is a need to develop better intervention strategies so that the benefits of drugs can be maximised. This symposium will address this issue from a multi-disciplinary viewpoint starting off with epidemiology, and ending with a session on how new technologies may be able to help.

G protein-coupled 7TM receptors: From molecular to physiological function

Held in association with ASPET
G protein-coupled receptors – also called 7TM receptors because of their seven trans-membrane segments – constitute the largest family of proteins in the human genome and are targets for a majority of current pharmaceutical drugs. The present conference will cover the most recent developments in the field with emphasis on structure, molecular pharmacology, signalling, function and molecular genetics.

Pharmacoepidemiology: Current controversies and opportunities

Pharmacoepidemiology is the study of use of drugs and the effects of drug in large groups of people. This conference will address the current status for some standing issues within the field. Particular emphasis will be recent methodological developments, effects of in utero drug exposure, adverse cardiovascular effects of drugs, data mining for spontaneous reports and use of measures for prescribing quality, all covered by a panel of world opinion leaders.

Addiction and doping: Neurobiological and clinical basis of emerging treatments

This conference will focus on addiction as a chronic relapsing disorder, and on doping not only as a spectacular part of elite sports, but as a growing problem in society. The conference will explore the progression from initiation of addiction, driven by acute rewarding effects of drug intake, to long term neuroadaptations at a later stage, and mechanisms through which drug associated cues and environmental stressors precipitate relapse to drug seeking. These findings provide a conceptual framework for a diverse group of medications with established efficacy in clinical addictive conditions, as well as novel emerging treatments. The conference will lead to new approaches for this large and growing problem with its severe consequences for the health of young abusers, criminal activity and economic burden to society.

Translational science in the metabolic syndrome: Basic and clinical pharmacological aspects

This conference will focus on the metabolic syndrome as a condition consisting of impaired insulin sensitivity combined with glucose intolerance, increased blood pressure and increased lipid level. The condition affects 15-20% of the population in the Western world and often leads to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. The current clinical interventions comprise change of diet, exercise and medicine. The conference will focus on some of the major drugs being used to normalize blood glucose: glitazones, GLP-1 analogues, DPP IV inhibitors and metformin. We will also look on antithrombotic treatment and polypharmacy in metabolic syndrome

New approaches and targets in psychiatry

Psychiatric disorders are widespread and a large burden for society as well as for the individual patients and their families. Lifetime prevalence is 5-15%, and existing therapies leave many patients and symptoms insufficiently treated. The existing therapies leave many patients and symptoms insufficiently treated and achieving remission is still a significant clinical challenge. This focused conference will examine new approaches and targets, in particular for affective disorders such as e.g. depression and anxiety.

Natural products and systems biology: Past and future?

The aim of the conference is to provide the basis for a critical discussion of the use and development of the natural products that are used by 80% of the World's population. Increasingly, systems biology is being applied to provide the theoretical basis for such products. The conference will explore how this novel approach can ensure that natural products can play a documented role in the medical armatorium. The conference will have contributions from and will appeal to all the major players in the area: pharmacologists and systems biologists from low-, mid- and high-income countries, health authorities, and the World Health Organization.

Drugs for half the World: Paediatric clinical pharmacology

Half of the World´s population is children. They are in need of documented drugs approved for use at different age stages. This conference will highlight inter alia the latest developments in pediatric pharmacology, how to test drugs in children, and aspects of the new European regulation about better medicines for children.

Endothelium in health and disease

BPS Conference
Vascular function and dysfunction with particular emphasis on endothelial cell dysfunction and CVS disease. Constituent symposia will cover NO and oxidative stress, endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization and vascular disease, endothelium-derived lipid mediators, endothelium generated vasoconstriction, novel therapeutic approaches to vascular dysfunction.

Developments in the treatment of sexual dysfunction and diseases of the lower urinary tract

The conference will cover the medicine for sexual dysfunction, the relation to cardiovascular disease and impact of drugs for treatment of cardiovascular disease on erectile dysfunction as well as the pharmacological treatment of premature ejaculation. The conference will explore current basic and clinical aspects of drugs and recent developments in the treatment of lower urinary tract syndrome/benign prostate hypertrophy and urinary incontinence will also be covered with a view to providing new treatments for these debilitating diseases.

New nuclear receptor targets for specific treatment of disease

Held in association with NC-IUPHAR
Nuclear receptors (NRs) are tra as the pharmacological treatment of premature ejaculation. The conference will explore current basic and clinical aspects of drugs and recent developments in the treatment of lower urinary tract syndrome/benign prostate hypertrophy and urinary incontinence will also be covered with a view to providing new treatments for these debilitating diseases.nscription factors whose activities are modulated by the binding of small lipophilic ligands. Nuclear receptors are major targets for drug discovery and have key roles in development and homeostasis, as well as in many diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. The present conference will include sessions on PPAR receptors in the metabolic syndrome, on PPAR, mineralocorticoid and estrogen receptors in the cardiovascular system. One session will be devoted to nuclear receptor co-activators, which confer tissue- and receptor-specific responses, and thereby provides new pharmacological targets. Finally a session deals with nuclear receptors with yet unknown ligands – orphan receptors, which constitute a pivotal resource to uncover new regulatory systems in health and disease.

Simulation and data modelling in drug development. Better drugs faster?

Simulation and modelling plays an increasing role in development of new drugs and its use is increasingly encouraged by regulatory agencies such as the US Food and Drugs Administration. Modelling and simulation can be used throughout the whole drug development phase to better understand complex biological systems and make a more efficient use of the plethora of data generated in both preclinical and clinical studies. This session will give an overview of the background and increasing need for use of modelling and simulation in drug development. Special focus will be given to the use of M&S to better understand pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics including the possibilities to better explore the variability in such parameters caused by e.g. gender, genetics, race and age. Furthermore, attention will be given to the use of whole organ models to explore drug actions as well as the use of simulation in education and training of doctors. Finally, an overview session will pay attention to the use of M&S in clinical drug development from Phase I to III.

Ion channels in analgesia and anaesthesia

BPS Conference
Clinically, general anaesthetics and analgesic drugs share the ability to interfere with sensory perception, either by rendering the patient unconscious or by reducing sensory input to the central nervous system. Similarities also exist at the molecular level where the drugs have profound effects on nerve cell excitability through interactions with ion channels. This focused conference will consider how our developing understanding of the roles played by ion channels in sensory nerves, and the ways in which they are altered during chronic pain states, are allowing the development of novel analgesic drugs. The conference will also address our current understanding of the molecular interactions between general anaesthetics and ion channels and consider whether a “unifying hypothesis” is emerging to explain the clinical actions of this most charismatic group of drugs.

Ion channelopathies: New windows on complex diseases and therapy

Held in association with NC-IUPHAR
Symposia on the following topics are planned: Inherited Epilepsies; Familial Hemiplegic Migraine; Inherited Periodic Paralyses; Inherited Arrhythmia and Hypertension; Kir Channelopathies; Severe Combined Immune Deficiency and Icrac; Ligand-Gated Channelopathies. In each symposium, speakers will address the molecular basis for the relevant channelopathy, the pathophysiological mechanisms that underlie the disease, and the prospects for novel therapies that would address not only the inherited channelopathy but also the more widespread nongenetic forms of these diseases.

Challenges in modern gastrointestinal pharmacology: from functional disorders to neoplastic diseases

IUPHAR Section on GI pharmacology
The two disorders, namely the functional disorders and the neoplastic diseases, are the most difficult diseases to treat and they cause major problems among the other diseases in the GI tract. The functional disorders in the upper and lower GI tract represent the most frequent complaints from patients with GI problems. These include the gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), irritable bowel disease (IBS) and emesis. The exact pathogenesis of these neuro-motor functional disorders could be multifactorial and there is no single drug treatment can effectively prevent or cure these diseases. In this symposium, experts in the field will update us with the pathogenesis and the most current and future direction of drug prevention and treatment for these disorders in the years ahead.

Inflammation and immunopharmacology: New tools for old diseases

Inflammatory diseases are a major burden for healthcare, with a large number of clinical and societal unmet needs for pharmacotherapy. About 5-10 % of the population in Western countries suffer from asthma and the prevalence of allergy is four times higher. Symptomatic osteoarthritis affects half of the population over 60 years old. In addition to classic inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, a number of major health problems, including obesity – metabolic syndrome – diabetes type II; degenerative CNS diseases, and many others, are now known to have features that involve pathogenetic processes typical for inflammation. The conference will focus on the mechanisms, mediators, drug targets and novel drugs and treatment modalities in inflammation and inflammatory diseases, including novel treatments for asthma and allergy, and arthritis; novel mechanisms of action and development of safer anti-inflammatory steroids; NSAIDs, and COX and prostaglandin synthase enzymes as well as iNOS – nitric oxide pathway as therapeutic targets; novel biologicals in the treatment of inflammatory diseases, with discussion of immunogenicity, adverse reactions and unexpected safety problems; and rational drug designand regulations of EMEA and FDA, especially for biologic drugs.

The heart gone wrong. Stabilization of cardiac function

Novel therapies for cardiac arrhythmia and heart failure are now emerging after many years where invasive treatment with pacemakers, ICDs, ablation therapy represented the progress for the cardiologists. The understanding of arrhythmia and heart failure mechanisms at a molecular, cellular and organ level has spurred the development. Within anti-arrhythmics there is a major focus on molecular targets in the atria and the treatment of atrial fibrillation. The understanding of the cardiac remodelling during heart failure and the molecular mechanisms behind this is evolving. Novel recently applied treatment options for systolic and diastolic heart failure will be reviewed and discussed during two sessions.