BioQatar Symposium attracts global scientists

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The delegates heard keynote speeches from H. E. Dr Ghalia Al Thani, Minister of Health, Qatar; Professor Sir Martin Evans, winner of The Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2007; Dr Elias Zerhouni, former Director of National Institutes of Health, USA; Professor Sir Christopher Evans, Chairman of Merlin, Biosciences, UK; and Dr Christian Brechot, Vice-President for Medical and Scientific Affairs, Mérieux Alliance.

The symposium is jointly organised by Qatar Foundation Research Division and Qatar Science & Technology Park with the goal of fostering biotechnology ventures and research projects, particularly in cancer and diabetes.

Professor Sir Martin Evans gave a keynote speech about 'Embryonic Stem Cells' and cellular regeneration therapies and the part these techniques may play in medicine or surgery. The other leading experts who also gave keynote speeches were; Dr Elias Zerhouni who presented on 'Major trends and challenges at the nexus of Science and Biotechnology' and talked about the challenges facing public health, such as aging population, health disparities, and the need to have a mechanistic understanding of human diseases. Professor Sir Christopher Evans' keynote speech discussed his experiences of managing one of the world's leading medical science companies. The final keynote by Dr Christian Brechot focused on issues that he has faced in establishing his businesses, helping the audience understand the challenges ahead'.

Dr Tidu Maini, Executive Chairman, Qatar Science & Technology Park added, ' The objective of the BioQatar symposium is to make the international science community aware of Qatar's strategy and mechanisms for establishing biomedical research and commercialisation projects. The breadth of topics presented during the first day was timely and insightful. Professor Sir Christopher Evans' speech on how to build a successful medical science company highlighted key issues that Qatar will face as it seeks to achieve its potential.'

'Part of the Qatar's national vision is to transform the country into a knowledge-based society. Events such as BioQatar play a vital role in helping us get closer to achieving this. BioQatar has been successful in providing a platform for science professionals to share ideas, as well as showcasing Qatar's medical treatment, education, research, and commercialisation infrastructure,'

said Dr Abdelali Haoudi, Vice President, Qatar Foundation Research Division.

In addition to the various presentations, there was a panel discussion on how biotechnology research could be used to combat cancer. This discussion was moderated by Professor David J Kerr, Rhodes Professor of Cancer Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Oxford, UK.

Tomorrow is the final day of the symposium and the delegates will see presentations from; Dr Niels Porksen, Director of Cardiovascular and Endocrine, Global External Research and Development at Lilly Corporate Centre in the USA. He will discuss 'Developing Diabetes Drugs; the Pharmaceutical Perspective from Target Identification Through to Launch'. Professor Philippe Froguel from Imperial College in London is also presenting, his keynote is entitled 'Genetic Approach of Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity'.