DIA Conference to Focus on Drug-Induced Injury of Liver, Heart, Kidney, and Skin

USA - English

• USA - English

HORSHAM, Pa. (PRWEB) September 24, 2013 -- The DIA conference Drug-Induced Injury of Liver, Heart, Kidney, and Skin: Employing Recent Advances to Improve Patient Safety and Speed Up the Pipeline will be held Oct. 15 to 17, at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in North Bethesda, Md., at 5701 Marinelli Road. The conference will focus on risk assessment of drug toxicity and address the obstacles faced by those working in pharmaceutical safety across the drug life cycle.

“Establishing the safety of new drug candidates remains a challenge in the development process. This conference will explore new strategies for risk assessment and mitigation and provide the latest updates on drug-induced organ injury from the United States, Europe and Japan,” said Susan Cantrell, director of DIA North America.

The two-and-a-half-day conference aimed at drug safety professionals will kick off with a welcome address by William W. Gregory, Ph.D., senior director of safety and risk management at Pfizer. The first session, “Impact on Drug Development of Novel Translational Safety Biomarkers for Improved Detection of Drug-Induced Acute Kidney Injury,” will be chaired by Aliza M. Thompson, M.D., a clinical team leader with the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, U.S.

Workshop sessions will include:

* Prediction and Prevention of Serious Drug-Induced Skin Injury, Oct. 15, 1:30 p.m.: Serious skin reactions are rare but can be life-threatening and leave people with lasting disabilities. Experts will discuss what is known about biomarkers for risk of serious skin reactions and the identification of patients at—and drugs with—the greatest risk. Edward Stewart Geary, M.D., senior vice president of corporate medical affairs at Eisai Co., Ltd., Japan, will chair this session.

* Drug-Induced Liver Injury: Models and Biomarkers, Oct. 16, 8:30 a.m.: One of the key challenges for the prediction and assessment of idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury in drug development is the lack of suitable models and safety biomarkers. This session will present examples of recent advances in both areas based on collaborative research. Michael Merz, M.D., director of discovery and investigative safety at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Switzerland, will chair this session.

* Risk Factors for Idiosyncratic Drug-Induced Liver Injury, Oct. 16, 3 p.m.: Master clinicians will discuss whether underlying liver diseases of various types can be distinguished from drug-induced injury and if the diseases may either enhance or diminish drug effects. This session will be chaired by John R. Senior, M.D., associate director for science, Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Food and Drug Administration, U.S.

* Models and Biomarkers of Drug-Induced Cardiac Injury, Oct. 17, 10:30 a.m.: This session will explore bench-to-bedside approaches to identifying and monitoring drug-induced cardiac injury as well as innovative approaches to in vitro modeling. Brian R. Berridge, DVM, Ph.D., director of worldwide animal research strategy at GlaxoSmithKline Research and Development, U.S., will chair this session.

ABOUT DIA: DIA is a neutral, global, professional and member-driven association of nearly 18,000 professionals involved in the discovery, development and life cycle management of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and related health care products. Through our international educational offerings and myriad networking opportunities, DIA provides a global forum for knowledge exchange that fosters the innovation of products, technologies and services to improve health and well-being worldwide. Headquarters are in Horsham, Pa., USA, with offices in Basel, Switzerland; Tokyo, Japan; Mumbai, India; Beijing, China; Washington, D.C.; and Latin America. Visit our website at http://www.diahome.org and follow DIA at: LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and Pinterest.

Eric Rosen, DIA, http://www.diahome.org, +1 (215) 290-9153, [email protected]