10^th Asia-Pacific Pharma Congress May 08-10, 2017 Singapore

Biography:

After completion of his postdoctoral training at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Prof. Gautam Sethi joined Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore in 2008 as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2015.  The focus of his research over the past few years has been to elucidate the mechanism (s) of activation of oncogenic transcription factors such as NF-kB/STAT3 by carcinogens and inflammatory agents and the identification of novel inhibitors of these proteins for prevention of and therapy for cancer. The findings of his research work have so far resulted in more than one hundred and fifty scientific publications in high impact factor peer reviewed journals and several international awards. He currently serves as an Academic Editor for PLOS, editorial board member of Scientific Reports, and ad-hoc reviewer for several other international journals. 

Abstract:

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide. Currently available therapies for metastatic PCa are only marginally effective; hence novel treatment modalities are urgently required. Our group has recently analyzed the potential anticancer effects of nimbolide (NL), a limonoid triterpene derived from Azadirachta indica, against PCa cell lines and in vivo models. Data from the in vitro studies indicated that NL could significantly inhibit cell viability, induce apoptosis and suppress cellular invasion and migration. Interestingly, NL also abrogated STAT3 activation, and this effect was found to be mediated via increased accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to GSH/GSSG imbalance.  NL administration also significantly suppressed the tumor growth and metastasis in transgenic PCa mouse model without any significant adverse effects. Overall present studies demonstrate critical role of GSH/GSSG imbalance-mediated ROS production contributing to STAT3 inhibitory and tumor suppressive effect of NL in PCa. 

Biography:

Christina Leung completed two Bachelor degrees in England, Management Sciences degree followed by a Pharmacy degree. Following the registration as a pharmacist in England, she worked in a number of teaching hospitals in London. After the completion of junior pharmacist training, Ms Leung spent 12 years as Women’s and Children’s Pharmacist, mainly specialising in Paediatric ICU, Paediatric Liver, Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She published a number of articles including two articles relating to drugs use in paediatric liver diseases published in UK Healthcare magazine. Ms Leung is also a registered pharmacist in HK and she is currently working as the Senior Pharmacist (Clinical Pharmacy Service) at the HKU-SZH in China. She is also the Honorary Lecturer of the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy at the University of Hong Kong. 

Abstract:

In China, medication incident reporting and management has recently started in healthcare settings. In HKU-SZH, a multi-disciplinary team including clinical pharmacistsoversees the medication incident management. The healthcare staff is encouraged to report medication incidents including near-misses using the hospital approved reporting form. Serious medication incidents are investigated using root-cause-analysis. Every month, the clinical pharmacist attends the Incident Management Team to discuss the medication incidents and the improvement actions. Every quarter, the clinical pharmacists are responsible to prepare the statistical incidents summary report which is then submitted to the Quality and Safety Management Committees. For serious or repetitive incidents, quality improvement measures are suggested to prevent recurrence of medication incidents. Examples of the improvement measures implemented are:

• Clinical Pharmacists prepare the quarterly Medication Safety Newsletter to raise the awareness of the medication safety and to show the improvement actions that were implemented.

• Develop high alert drugs management policy and the drugs list.

• Incorporate patient drug allergy history and medication reconciliation template in electronic prescribing system.

• Change the dosage unit of insulin from “U” to “unit” and from IU to “international unit” in the electronic prescribing system.

• Add patient weight (in kg) section in the electronic drug chart to aid the accurate calculation of dosage especially for children.

• Develop clinical guideline for some high risk drugs such as Fentanyl patch.

• Clinical Pharmacists have prepared over 50 patient leaflets to enhance the optimisation of drugs use and patient safety.

• Additional patient counselling service for patients on warfarin on the ward.

• Involvement of clinical pharmacists in the out-patient clinic. E.g. Diabetic clinic.

• Deliver teaching sessions to the nurses and doctors. E.g. “Safe and effective use of insulin” for nurses, and the “Effective medicine management” for newly joint doctors.

For healthcare professionals to report medication incidents is a big step forward in risk management in China. A “no-blame” culture is essential to encourage medication incident reporting. We learn from all the incidents reported to us and they guide us to develop improvement plans to further enhance medication safety.

Biography:

Gopal Natesan has completed his Doctoral degree (PhD) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Hamdard University (Jamia Hamdard) New Delhi, India in 2000 and currently serving as Professor of Medicinal Chemistry & Deputy Dean of Research & Innovation in Faculty of Pharmacy, MAHSA University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His research focuses on the synthesis of newer small chemical entities, quinazolinones heterocyclic pharmacophore and their preliminary screening in both in-vivo and in- vitro models mainly focusing on pain & inflammation and also for newer microbial agents. He has published >40 articles in indexed journals and presented >80 papers in conferences and received number of honors, recently received “Young Scientist Award” in 2013 and “Edward Kennedy Memorial Award” for his high standards of research excellence in Science and Technology. He was invited speaker at international scientific meetings and conferences and serves as reviewer for several scientific international journals and also as Editorial/Advisory board of various journals.

Abstract:

Bacterial dental plaque is one of the most complex oral biofilm and the primary initiating factor of the most prevalent oral diseases such as dental caries, periodontal diseases, and peri-implant diseases due to the microbial film formation and hence the management of biofilm is vital for oral health as well as impeding the development of various periodontal diseases. Commercially available medications have been tried and tested against bacterial plaque pathogens. Unfortunately, various antimicrobial drugs cannot be used safely due to its side effects as well as development of antibacterial resistant strains of microorganism. The search for alternative products continues and natural extracts isolated from plants used as traditional medicines are considered as good alternatives. Hence, an attempt has been made to study the antimicrobial effect of Rhizophora stylosaleaf and bark extracts against the selected consortium of dental biofilms such as Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus salivarius by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC). The extracts of R. stylosa leaves and barks were prepared by hot percolation method using organic solvents (petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol). The biofilms of varying microbial consortium combinations were developed and exposed to the different organic leaf and bark extracts with a highest concentration of 200mg/ml which was serially diluted to a concentration of 0.4 mg/ml. The viability of the biofilms was determined at 570nm by ELISA microtiter plate reader and the MBEC was determined by spot plating method. From the study, it has been concluded that Petroleum ether leaf extracts exhibited better antimicrobial activity compared to other extracts and the biofilms which had S. aureus and S. salivarius being the most susceptible resistant organism respectively towards the extract.