The 137th meeting of the British Pharmaceutical Conference takes place at the International Convention Centre, Birmingham, from Sunday, September 10, to Wednesday, September 13. The overall theme will be "Medicines: the future horizon". This page updates and expands on aspects of the previously published programme
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Further information
Information about the Birmingham conference programme was published in a two-page feature in The Journal of February 5 (p228-229). Fuller programme details can be found on the Society's website (www.rpsgb.org.uk/330.htm).
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The national service framework "tsars" appointed to oversee modernisation of coronary heart disease and cancer services are both to speak at the British Pharmaceutical Conference. Dr Roger Boyle, the recently appointed national CHD director, and Professor Mike Richards, the national cancer director, will both speak on the morning of September 12 during a day-long community pharmacy session on "Pharmacists and service frameworks: developing guidelines and standards".
The session will continue in the afternoon with the launch of Royal Pharmaceutical Society guidance on asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Mr Hemant Patel, a member of the Society's Council and chairman of its task force on asthma and COPD, will explain why the guidance has been produced and members of the task force will present case studies demonstrating how the guidance can be used to improve practice.
At a discussion session later in the afternoon, participants will have the opportunity to discuss with members of the Society's mental health task force how to relate the Society's mental health guidance to their own practice.
The development of new materials to improve the longevity of medical implants and reduce the need for revision surgery will be described in this year's conference science award lecture, to be given on September 13 by Dr Andrew Lloyd (reader in biopharmaceutical sciences, Brighton university), winner of the 1999 Conference science medal.
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Andrew Lloyd |
Participants in a September 13 conference debate on professional performance and self-regulation are to include the Government's chief medical officer for England (Professor Liam Donaldson) and the chief executive of the General Medical Council (Dr Finlay Scott). Other speakers are the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Secretary and Registrar (Miss Ann Lewis) and the chief executive of the Association of Community Health Councils in England and Wales (Ms Donna Covey). The debate will be chaired by BBC Television's head of health and social affairs, Mr Niall Dickson.
Mr Dickson will later chair a session on genetics, which pits the chief scientific adviser of Greenpeace (Dr Douglas Parr) against researchers involved in genetic manipulation.
The pharmaceutical industry and the evolution of molecular medicine is to be the subject of the Astra Zeneca industrial achievement award lecture at the 2000 British Pharmaceutical Conference. The lecture will be given on September 12.
This year's award winner is Dr George Poste, CBE, FRS. Dr Poste was formerly president, research and development, at Smithkline Beecham and is now chief executive officer of Health Technology Networks, a consulting group based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Washington, DC, which specialises in the impact of genetics, computing and other advanced technologies on health care research and development and internet-based systems for health care delivery.
During his time in the pharmaceutical industry Dr Poste was associated with 29 successful drug and vaccine registrations in the United States and internationally.
Advances in drug delivery and tissue engineering will be described by Professor Bob Langer (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States) on September 10 in his Glaxo Wellcome international achievement award lecture.
Professor Langer's award recognises his innovation across the fields of the physical, chemical and biological sciences in the development of new delivery systems and biomaterials.
Among developments he has been involved with are macromolecular drug release using biodegradable polymeric systems, polymer-based drug delivery to the brain, iontophoresis as a mode of drug delivery, polymer scaffolds in tissue engineering, novel porous aerosols for inhalation therapy, stealth-nanoparticles for site-specific delivery, and controlled release microchip technology.