With the rapid growth of OINDP research and manufacturing throughout Asia over the past few years, a group of inhalation specialists from the UK, Australia, India, and China decided recently that the time was right for a new conference dedicated to pulmonary and nasal drug delivery in the region.
The group, which includes Philippe Rogueda, Jag Shur, James Tibbatts, Anny Shen, Paul Heng, and Radhika Vaishnav, joined forces to create Inhalation Asia 2013, a three-day meeting that will take place June 26-28 in Hong Kong. The meeting is being hosted by the University of Hong Kong Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy and is chaired by the University’s Philip Kwok.
Topics for Inhalation Asia 2013 include:
- Regulatory practices and strategies in the Asian regions
- Conducting clinical trials in Asia, PK, PD, BE studies, results, experience and planning regulatory issues
- Pharmaceutical Sciences: Formulation, devices, pharmacology, testing, in vitro BE studies, product design, testing and analysis
- Therapies, traditional medicines, public health policies, current practices
- Local market knowledge; suppliers, customers, industry and academia.
Speakers announced to date include representatives of the SFDA and the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission, plus scientists from universities and research centers in China, Hong Kong, India, Australia, and Japan. Philippe Rogueda points to a talk titled “Call for a worldwide withdrawal of tiotropium Respimat mist inhaler” by Sonal Singh of the John Hopkins School of Medicine and Public Health as one presentation likely to lead to lively discussion. A planned session on particle engineering technology featuring prominent specialists from major companies in that field also ranks high on his list of anticipated presentations.
The official language of Inhalation Asia 2013 is English, with Chinese/English translation available. If the committee can secure sufficient sponsorship funding for translators, Japanese/English translation is also a possibility.
According to Rogueda, the goal is to have about 130 attendees, 25 exhibitors, and 50 posters, with most of the attendees coming from Asia. The organizers hope that the relatively low registration fee — 4500 HKD (~$580 US) until March 29, 5500 HKD (~$710 US) after March 29 — will make the conference affordable for Chinese attendees.
