About 500 of the world’s leading scientific, industrial and academic experts, including Nobel laureates, have converged at Dubai for the first International Conference on Drug Design and Discovery which began yesterday.
The conference, slated to run till February 7, was opened by Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
In his opening speech, Shaikh Nahyan stressed the importance of observing clear ethical standards in drug research, discovery and industry.
“The UAE is pleased to host this international conference, which is being held in the region for the first time. Such a focused international conference to present various disciplines of drug design and discovery is important to the health and wellness of humanity. The UAE remains committed towards advancing the scientific research, as science is a global endeavour,” he said.
Shaikh Nahyan praised the achievements made by the Nobel Laureates in medicine and clinical chemistry. “Thanks to their efforts, cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes and probably cancer are hopefully in sight. However, we need to harness the benefits of the research and discovery for the welfare of human beings. Everybody should have a quick and global access to the necessary drugs they need,” Shaikh Nahyan said.
The minister called on all scientists working in the field of pharmaceuticals to seize the opportunities by exploiting advances in biotechnology, health informatics and biomedical engineering. “Visionary efforts combined with innovative technologies are needed in pharmaceutical research today. There is an urgent need to address the large gap between supply and demand for affordable and accessible treatment,” he concluded.
Professor Richard Ernst, chairman of organising committee and Nobel laureate, warned pharmaceutical scientists against the transformation of the drug discovery and design into a trade.
“The anticipated danger can be used as a compass so that the scientists can anticipate the consequences of their actions. As the saying goes, science without conscience can ruin the soul. We in the academic community, have to keep the boat of medicine development afloat. We need to remain optimistic because we are all jointly responsible for what we will become,” Prof Ernst maintained.
He pointed to the increasing preference for natural products in the drug discovery. “People from all over the world — Mexico, Africa, Brazil, China, European and Arab countries — are going to the nature to extract and discover the herbal drugs. There are many examples of success stories of biopharmaceuticals. The use of Enbrel has proven to be an effective therapy in chronic inflammation (rheumatoid arthritis),” Prof Ernst explained. Source
The conference, slated to run till February 7, was opened by Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
In his opening speech, Shaikh Nahyan stressed the importance of observing clear ethical standards in drug research, discovery and industry.
“The UAE is pleased to host this international conference, which is being held in the region for the first time. Such a focused international conference to present various disciplines of drug design and discovery is important to the health and wellness of humanity. The UAE remains committed towards advancing the scientific research, as science is a global endeavour,” he said.
Shaikh Nahyan praised the achievements made by the Nobel Laureates in medicine and clinical chemistry. “Thanks to their efforts, cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes and probably cancer are hopefully in sight. However, we need to harness the benefits of the research and discovery for the welfare of human beings. Everybody should have a quick and global access to the necessary drugs they need,” Shaikh Nahyan said.
The minister called on all scientists working in the field of pharmaceuticals to seize the opportunities by exploiting advances in biotechnology, health informatics and biomedical engineering. “Visionary efforts combined with innovative technologies are needed in pharmaceutical research today. There is an urgent need to address the large gap between supply and demand for affordable and accessible treatment,” he concluded.
Professor Richard Ernst, chairman of organising committee and Nobel laureate, warned pharmaceutical scientists against the transformation of the drug discovery and design into a trade.
“The anticipated danger can be used as a compass so that the scientists can anticipate the consequences of their actions. As the saying goes, science without conscience can ruin the soul. We in the academic community, have to keep the boat of medicine development afloat. We need to remain optimistic because we are all jointly responsible for what we will become,” Prof Ernst maintained.
He pointed to the increasing preference for natural products in the drug discovery. “People from all over the world — Mexico, Africa, Brazil, China, European and Arab countries — are going to the nature to extract and discover the herbal drugs. There are many examples of success stories of biopharmaceuticals. The use of Enbrel has proven to be an effective therapy in chronic inflammation (rheumatoid arthritis),” Prof Ernst explained. Source
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