We extend a warm welcome to the Nobel laureates, doctors, leading scientists and young researchers to the United Arab Emirates to participate in ‘the Second International Conference on Drug Discovery and Therapy’.

Such a focused international conference to present and deliberate advances in various disciplines of drug discovery and therapy is significant, timely and important to the health and wellness of humanity. It is anticipated that 1200-1500 of the world’s leading scientists, industrialists and academicians including several Nobel laureates in the fields of medical and biological sciences will get together in this forum in Dubai to share new scientific ideas. We are indeed pleased to host such an international conference in the United Arab Emirates.

Why has the United Arab Emirates taken this initiative to host such a specialized scientific conference on such a global scale? Firstly, the UAE stands at a strategic threshold in terms of its commitment to advancing scientific research for the benefit of the entire region. Secondly, the UAE’s strategic geographic location, with efficient access to about 3 billion people in the wider region, provides enormous opportunities for the industry to tap a large pool of scientists pursuing research and a large market for new products and solutions.

One of the important challenges facing researchers, technologists and innovators in this millennium is to design and develop products and solutions that are accessible and affordable to the large mass of the less affluent population of the world. There is a need for research efforts in drug discovery and therapy to be further focused towards the treatment of specific diseases afflicting this part of humanity. Visionary efforts combined with innovative technologies are needed to address the gap between supply and accessible treatment. Other challenges faced by researchers include meeting the demands of an increasing ageing population, dealing with lifestyle diseases in both developing and developed economies and slowing the spread of communicable diseases in an interconnected world. However, the most significant challenge may be the looming ‘resistance epidemic’. The pipeline of new antibiotics is drying up and a renewed effort must be made to seek ways of conquering this challenge.

As we face such major challenges, pharma-researchers also have tremendous opportunities and tools today in exploiting advances in biotechnology, health informatics and biomedical engineering as a result of an unprecedented integration of engineering and technology with health and life sciences in the last decade. As this conference is being held at such an interesting time, the deliberations and recommendations of the conference will have a significant impact on the future directions of drug development. I strongly believe that these efforts will have an estimable impact on the health and wellness of humanity.

Dear Colleagues,

After the outstanding success of the 1st International Conference on Drug Design and Discovery held in Dubai, UAE in February 2008, which was attended by 11 Nobel laureates, and 600 eminent scientists the second conference promises to be an even larger event with over 450 lectures 23 thematic sessions, poster presentations and an associated exhibition planned. The conference will host leading scientists from academia and industry worldwide, to discuss the latest developments in drug discovery and therapy.

The major topics of discussion related to drug, discovery and therapy will include: Global Roundup of Pharmaceutical Research Capabilities and Opportunities, Successful Drug Discovery from the Research Lab to the Clinic, Drug Discovery in the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities, Translational Medicine, Enabling Technologies, Proteomics & Bioinformatics, Drug Delivery, Antiinfectives, Biologics, Cardiovascular, Pulmonary Disorders, Central Nervous System, Diabetes and Obesity, Inflammation and Immunology, Oncology, Women’s Health Issues, Regulatory Affairs, Generic Pharmaceuticals: Challenges and Opportunities, Nanotechnology in Biomedical Research, Drug Discovery in Preclinical Research, Endothelial Dysfunction in Cardiovascular Disease, Development in other Therapeutic Areas, Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and Global Pharma Outsourcing.

The conference aims to provide many interesting perspectives on how science and technology of drug discovery and drug therapy are changing rapidly, thereby providing new opportunities and challenges to scientists and medical doctors.

I look forward to welcoming the participants to this exciting conference which will bring together world leaders in their respective fields in the exotic environment of Dubai. The city has become a great tourist attraction because of the range of facilities that it offers to visitors warm clean beaches, tradional bazaars and modern shopping centres which are a shopper's paradise, culinary delights from the East and the West, and top class hotels which can provide you with very comfortable accommodation at reasonable rates.

ABOUT THE PRESIDENT 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DRUG DISCOVERY AND THERAPY Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman is a Fellow of Royal Society (London), and Honorary Life Fellow of Kings College Cambridge University. He is the author/editor of 99 books published by major US/European presses and has 874 research publications 59 chapters in books and 15 patents to his credit. He is the Editor-in-Chief of a number of European Chemistry journals including Current Medicinal Chemistry, Current Organic Chemistry, Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry, Letters in Organic Chemistry, Natural Product Research etc. Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman has been awarded Doctor of Science degrees by a number of universities including Cambridge University and UNESCO Science Prize (1999) as well as the highest civil awards of the Government of Pakistan and Austria for his contributions to medicinal chemistry and education.

Dear Colleagues and friends,

On behalf of the organizing committee we are pleased to invite you to participate in the 2nd International Conference on Drug Discovery and Therapy to be held in Dubai, Feb. 1-4, 2010. After the excellent success of the first conference in Feb., 2008, the second is organized around the theme of translational biomedical research to give the audience a comprehensive survey of the latest developments from drug discovery to clinical therapy.

The conference will host leading scientists from academia, clinical practice and industrial research worldwide. There are presently 23 tracks that will be covered including successful vignettes of the introduction into the clinic and marketing of new drugs, and the traditional therapeutic area review and summary of current research and developments. The conference aims to provide an international perspective on how science and technology in modern drug discovery and the clinical use of drug therapy and biologics is changing and will continue to change in the modern era.

Dubai is an astounding and remarkable location for a scientific conference. It is central to the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, and easily accessible from the rest of the world as well. The commercial growth of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates is also reflected in an emerging biotechnology sector. It is expected that 2nd International Conference on Drug Discovery and Therapy will be a memorable and historic event, building on the strengths of the 1st ICDDD in new and innovative ways.