DDL 23 — Day 1

Stuart Farrow’s talk titled “Circadian Rhythms and Drug Discovery” appeared to generate the most discussion among attendees.

Professor Farrow explained the circadian considerations involved with the treatment of respiratory diseases, including the fact that most severe symptoms appear in the early morning, while the effectiveness of inhaled glucosteroids for symptom control peaks in the afternoon. The presentation included a detailed discussion of the mechanism of the molecular clock and potential methods of circadian controlled release that could lead to a novel chronopharmaceutical for the treatment of respiratory illnesses. It may be possible, Farrow noted, to achieve 24-hour control of symptoms without 24-hour action.

Approximately 70 companies are exhibiting this year, with several companies as first-time exhibitors. Among them was Discovery Park, formerly the Pfizer campus in Sandwich, UK, which was sharing a booth with one of its tenants, Mylan. The research campus is looking for tenants to join Mylan and Pfizer, which still has a presence on the site, and while it is not restricting its recruiting to respiratory development companies, it would like to see a cluster of OINDP specialists in at least a portion of the campus.

Several companies drew attendees to their booths with games, including Presspart’s virtual driving range and Team Consulting’s retro-style arcade game, “Space Inhalers.” Unlike Team’s “Inhalator” at DDL 22, the Space Inhalers game tests respiratory control rather than strength.

While few of the exhibitors took advantage of the meeting to launch new products, Westech showed off its new W7 cascade impactor, which is now available for sale. The new impactor has seven stages, removable jets, and a replaceable micro-orifice collector.

Delegates had plenty of opportunities to network in both the exhibition hall and poster presentation areas, with a buffet lunch at the beginning of the meeting, coffee break, and a drinks reception featuring live music at the end of the day.