ICDDT2010: The 2nd International Conference on Drug Discovery & Therapy: Dubai, February 1st

The 2nd International Conference on Drug Discovery & Therapy: Dubai, February 1 - 4, 2010

Among the anti-infective drugs which have recently been approved for clinical use, the antiviral agents, following the trend set by anti-bacterials (antibiotics) a few decades ago, have taken the lead. In recent years, more than forty antiviral compounds have been formally licensed, more than half of which are used in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections (AIDS). Others have been licensed for the treatment of herpesvirus infections, hepatitis B and C, and influenza. For other virus infections, i.e. pox (variola, vaccinia), hemorrhagic fever virus, picornavirus, flavivirus, papilloma- and adenovirus infections, effective antiviral drugs still have to be developed or submitted to clinical trials. Even for those virus infections that can already be controlled by therapeutic modalities, the search for additional molecular targets and new treatment strategies should be pursued. The development of antiviral agents requires a multidisciplinary approach encompassing many different fields, such as molecular modeling, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and clinical medicine. Most importantly, the development of antiviral agents may learn from (and should not been dissociated from) other anti-infectives, in particular those compounds targeted at bacterial infections (i.e. tuberculosis) and protozoal infections (i.e. malaria) and other parasitic diseases, as evidence is growing for compounds trespassing these borders, both from a structure-activity relationship (SAR) and mode of action viewpoint.

Muhammad I. Choudhary
University of Karachi
Karachi, Pakistan

Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary is a Professor of Organic Chemistry and Director at International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (H. E. J. Research Institute of Chemistry and Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research). He is among the most prominent scientists of Pakistan, recognized for his original contributions in the fields of natural products and bioorganic chemistry. He has written and edited 15 books, most of which have been published in USA and Europe. He is also the author of over 500 research papers and chapters in top international science journals of the West. The cumulative impact factor of his publication is over 500. This is by far the largest number of quality publications from any scientist in Pakistan of his age group. He has been the most cited scientist of Pakistan in last five years with citation exceeding 2,800. He is the Volume Editor of many international book series journals. He has served as a visiting faculty in many prestigious universities of the world including Cornell University (New York), Purdue University (Indiana), Pennsylvania State University (Pennsylvania), and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (San Diego, California).

Dr. Choudhary has skillfully used his deep understanding of chemical principles and biological processes in the discovery of a large number of fascinating molecules with potential therapeutic applications. More specifically his research group has discovered and studied new inhibitors of clinically important enzymes, which can be used to stop the disease processes involve in the enzyme-related disorders. As a result, several new classes of lead molecules were made known to the world of science along with associated understanding of their mechanism of action. The most notable contribution of Dr. Choudhary is in broad area of Bioorganic Chemistry where he used structural diversity of natural and synthetic compounds combined with biological targets to discover lead molecules with a potential to be developed as effective pharmaceutical agents. Some of the internationally recognized discoveries of his research group include the discovery of novel classes of acetylcholinesterase, ureases, and a-glucosidase inhibitors. The results of these studies have been published in over 150 research papers in top international journals and have also been patented internationally. His research group has also discovered the two most potent antiepileptic natural products (Isooxylitones A and B) from a local medicinal plant Delphinium denudatum, which has attracted a major attention internationally. The compounds are now patented in USA and are in the process of pre-clinical studies. His work has also resulted in a number of important scientific discoveries including the discovery of plant materials with pronounced antidiabetic, antileishmanial and cholesterol-lowering activities. Many of the structurally novel compounds, discovered by his research group were found to have interesting pharmacological profiles and are in different stages of development.

Prof. Choudhary has won several national and international awards such as Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Sitara-e-Imtiaz and Tamgha-e-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan, Pakistan Academy of Sciences Gold Medal, National Book Foundation Prize on best book and the Third World Academy of Sciences Young Scientist Prize. He received the prestigious title of “Distinguish National Processor” from the Higher Education Commission in 2004. He is a member and fellow of many prestigious societies including Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences, Islamic Academy of Sciences, Chemical Society of Pakistan, Royal Society of Chemistry (London), and LEAD-International. He is also the recipient of the 1st Khawarizmi International Award and Prize from the President of Islamic Republic of Iran.

The 2nd International Conference on Drug Discovery & Therapy (2nd ICDDT), February 1-4, 2010, will have Twenty three tracks, each focusing on one therapeutic area. However, these tracks only cover those fields which are either considered to be important due to scientific interests or in terms of prevalence. A part from them, there are many diseases and therapeutic areas which can’t be covered in these track, but still have scientific interest and social merit. We have therefore decided to include a separate track to include these diverse, but still interesting and important presentation. The track entitled, “Development in Other Therapeutic Areas”. Will have invited and short presentations, as well as, poster presentations by leading experts in various fields on a broad range of topics, such as Intellectual Property, Endocrinology, Metabolics (Renal+Urology), Gastrointestinal Diseases, Radiology, Gerontology/ Aging, Opthalmology, Hematology, Pediatrics, Dentistry/Oral, Dermatology, Allergy, Behavorial Health, Men’s Health issues, Rheumatology/Arthritis, Orthopedics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Respiratory Diseases, Reproductive Health, etc.