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Viva Biotech's Recent Conferences & Events Review
Time: 2022-09-05
Source: Viva Biotech
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[Abstract]:Over the past month, Viva Biotech attended 5 industry conferences/events and delivered some insights.

BIONNOVA WEST CHINA FORUM 2022

 

On August 18-19, BIONNOVA WEST CHINA FORUM 2022 took place in Chengdu, which focused on new drugs and new targets. Other discussions covered topics such as R&D, collaboration and industrialization of small molecules, improved new drugs, antibodies, vaccines, and nucleic acid drugs. Dr. Jianhua Cai, Senior Vice President of Viva Biotech, attended the forum to give his expertise on new ligand PROTAC development technology.

 

Starting with the principles of PROTAC technology and the current technical progress, Dr. Cai investigated future trends of PROTAC. He pointed out that the screening of novel molecules, especially tissue-specific or tumor-specific E3 ligase ligand-based PROTAC molecules, is of great clinical importance. Later, Dr. Cai introduced the commonly used small molecule screening technologies and the application of Viva’s Drug Screening Platform in PROTAC drug discovery. He pointed out that Viva’s Screening Platform has both covalent and non-covalent screening technologies, which can achieve efficient ligand screening with Viva's compound library or compound libraries provided by customers. Specifically, he highlighted the technical application of ASMS for ligand screening and described how ASMS technology can be used to achieve screening of molecular gel molecules. Generally, with Viva's drug screening platform, customers can obtain Hits within 2-3 months.

 

Lastly, he introduced the overall R&D strength of Viva’s PROTAC platform. In terms of PROTAC protein research, Viva has accumulated more than 50 E3 ligase structures and delivered approximately 80 crystal structures and many cryo-electron microscopy structures of the target protein--PROTAC-E3 ligase ternary complexes. In addition, he introduced the comprehensive bioactivity testing capabilities of the PROTAC platform, chemical synthesis capabilities and experience, the application of CADD in PROTAC molecular design, and the common problems of PROTAC molecular pharmacokinetics and corresponding solutions. He discussed the ability of PROTAC molecules to form ternary complexes in ternary systems and the quantitative efficacy curve of the hook effect. Finally, he described how to achieve high throughput screening of PORTAC molecules using HiBiT technology and the application of SPR technology in studying the kinetic process of ternary complex formations.

 

 

2022 New Drug Development and Collaboration Summit

 

On August 18-19, the CPHI - 2022 New Drug Development and Collaboration Summit was successfully held. With the theme of "Create New Energy - Share New Wisdom", the conference invited many top experts and scholars to discuss the opportunities of innovation in China.

 

Dr. Han Dai, CIO of Viva Biotech and Head of Viva BioInnovator, was invited to attend the dialogue session and discussed with the guests about building innovation ecosystems to activate the source of innovation. Dr. Han Dai briefly introduced Viva’s unique CRO drug development services, CDMO R&D and manufacturing services, and EFS investment and incubation business to empower the new drug development ecosystem. He emphasized the importance of diversified cooperation and synergy in the biopharmaceutical industry chain, pointed out the challenges and opportunities brought by this year's biopharmaceutical doldrums, and encouraged the innovation ecosystem to embrace win-win development.

 

Dr. Derek Ren, Executive Director and President of Viva Biotech, shared his presentation on "PROTAC Technology for Breakthrough of Non-Pharmaceutical Targets". Dr. Ren briefly introduced the current status of PROTAC technology and the challenges it faces. Through a number of representative cases, he explained the wide range of applications in PROTAC drug discovery and development, from target protein production to lead compound screening and optimization, providing a full range of services.

 

 

BPC China 2022

 

On August 9-10, BPC China 2022 took place in Nanjing. The conference was based on the two dimensions of innovative antibody drugs and small molecule innovative drugs. It gathered innovative drug R&D leaders, research scholars, regulatory experts, and scientists. In addition, Viva Biotech experts were also invited to attend this conference.

 

Dr. Jianguo Ma, Senior Vice President of Viva Biotech and CEO of Langhua Pharmaceutical, gave a presentation on the research strategy of genotoxic impurities in chemical drugs. The presentation included four aspects, including background and regulations of genotoxic impurities, assessment of genotoxic impurities, limit assessment of toxic impurities, and cases of impurity control.

 

Through the demonstration of structural alerts, analysis of important drug genotoxicity, and introduction of related concepts such as PDE and TTC, Dr. Ma gave the participants a more detailed understanding of the hazards of genotoxicity and the importance of controlling genotoxicity research. At the same time, based on the ICH M7 guidelines, Dr. Ma explained the five classifications of genetic impurities and the four ways to control them. He also focused on the limits and control of highly toxic genetic impurities concern cohorts and case studies. The presentation of the topic provided important strategic advice for biopharmaceutical companies in the process of drug development and CMC application regarding the assessment of genotoxic impurities, control of thresholds, etc.

 

Dr. Han Dai, CIO of Viva Biotech and Head of Viva BioInnovator, shared his thoughts on the strategies to address drug discovery challenges in PROTAC and challenges in new drug discovery enabled by emerging cross-border technologies: "New technologies are constantly spiraling upwards, helping to break through difficult drug discovery challenges from the ground up. Clinical needs and technological empowerment will ultimately drive the problem."

 

Dr. Mingda Bi, Vice President of Langhua Pharmaceuticals, introduced the history of establishing regulations related to pediatric drug development in the U.S. from 1997 to the present and highlighted the content and differences related to PREA and BPCA. He mainly emphasized that drugs should be evaluated for safety and efficacy in the pediatric population before deciding whether they are suitable for pediatric use. Safety and efficacy data in the adult population is not a substitute for evaluating a drug in the pediatric population. The lack of evaluation of drugs in the pediatric population has led to the adoption of legislation in Europe and the United States to require and reward drug companies for developing pediatric drugs. In addition, he introduced the current pediatric drug development regulations in Europe and briefly compared them with the U.S. regulations and noticed the similarities between the two. Finally, he suggested that there are no pediatric drug development regulations in China and several pediatric drug development guidelines have recently been issued, mainly written with reference to some pediatric drug development guidelines in Europe and the United States. China's pediatric drug development needs to be further improved from regulations to guidelines to internal facilities such as plants, equipment, and professional staff required for pediatric drug development. Pediatric age-appropriate dosage form development, especially neonatal dosage form development and excipient safety assessment, still needs to be improved.

 

 

2022 China Pharmaceutical Researchers Conference

 

The China Pharmaceutical Researchers Conference was held in Hangzhou on August 2nd-3rd. Dr. Jianguo Ma, Senior Vice President of Viva Biotech and CEO of Langhua Pharmaceutical, delivered a keynote speech on the "Screening of Salt and Crystalline Forms During Drug Development".

 

Dr. Ma analyzed the importance of salt and crystalline forms from the perspectives of physicochemical properties, patent protection, formulation process, and more. He stated that the salt and crystal form of APIs affect the solubility, dissolution rate, physical and chemical stability, bioavailability, and safety of drugs, and has an important impact on the development of the subsequent formulation process. At the same time, the patent protection of salt and crystal form can also help pharmaceutical companies to extend the product life cycle. In addition, Dr. Ma also elaborated on its application in different stages of new drug development through practical cases.

 

 

WIM 2022

 

On July 29-30, EqualOcean organized WIM 2022 in New York City. Dr. Sally Wang Liang, Venture Partner of Viva BioInnovator, was invited to attend the event and have discussions with Dr. Ying Huang, CEO of Legend Biotech, Mr. Dahai Guo, CEO of Zennova Group, and Dr. Bing Yuan, CEO of OnCusp Therapeutics. They focused on the hot topics of biotech companies. The discussion centered around how startups can attract investors in the current environment where capital market investment and financing is more rationalized. From the perspective of a business partner, Dr. Sally Wang Liang elaborated that, in addition to good science, a company should be committed to building the right team and finding the right investors who can resonate with the company's philosophy.

Media contact: vivapr@vivabiotech.com
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