1. The Second Annual Symposium on Biopharmaceuticals - San Diego BioPharma Conference 2003
The Second Annual Symposium on Biopharmaceuticals - San Diego BioPharma Conference 2003 was held on May 18, 2003 at Marriott La Jolla, San Diego. SABPA co-organized the symposium in a collaborative effort with SDCA. The symposium featured an array of lectures by leading experts from prominent local companies and institutions. By addressing the key challenges and opportunities in technology innovation, drug discovery and entrepreneurship, the symposium encouraged and promoted connections between academia and industry, and between researchers and entrepreneurs in the cross-disciplines of life sciences. Dr. Fang Fang, CSO of Perlan Therapeutics and a Director of SABPA, received the 2003 San Diego Bio-Pharma Award. Approximately 470-500 enthusiastic participants, well beyond the registration limit, attended the lectures and discussions. The symposium was chaired by Dr. Hui Cai from SDCA. For more information, please visit the symposium's web site.
2. SABPA Science and Technology Forum II: SARS and anti-viral SARS and Anti-Virus Drug Discovery
SABPA Science and Technology Forum II: SARS and Anti-Virus Drug Discovery was held on June 14, 2003. Two distinguished scientists, Dr. Michael Lai and Dr. David Matthews spoke on the topics of coronavirus and other RNA viruses (Dr. Lai) and structure-based drug design for inhibitors of viral proteases (Dr. Mathews). The event was chaired by Dr. Xiangming Fang from Genway with around 150 participants. During the event, more than $3000 was raised for SARS Help Fund to help fighting this deadly disease recently erupted in Asian.
3. Donation and Distribution of SARS Help Fund
SARS Help Fund was established by SABPA, San Diego in early May, 2003 and was cosponsored by local organizations including CAST, SDCA, SDCAMA and UCEA. All donation received in the SARS Help Fund will be distributed to help family members of health care providers in the Greater China Area who risked their lives to save patients. The contribution will be made through established and reliable cannels. Evaluation of the potential receivers, including Red Cross, is currently in progress. Dr. Xiangming Fang will coordinate to finalize the fund distribution.
4. The SABPA Board Meeting
The SABPA Board of Directors conducted its second 2003 official meeting on July 26, 2003 at the conference room of GenWay Biotech. Dr. Xinjun Hou, President of SABPA, reported the latest status of our organization and recent activities. Dr. Hou is resigning due to his recent career move. To recognize the profound contribution during his tenure as the first SABPA president, the Board unanimously decided to awarded Dr. Hou a title of Honorary President. The board has also approved other organizational changes. Future activities, including 2003 Back-to-School Picnic and 2004 Annual Symposium, have been planned during the meeting. Prof. Jason Yuan and Dr. Weiguo Su will lead the event committees for these two activities, respectively. For more details, please visit http://www.sabpa.org/About/OCMtgs/SABPA_2_03MtgMinutes.pdf
The Latest News from the Board of Directors by August 8, 2003 -- The SABPA Board of Directors has unanimously approved Drs. Hui Cai and Zhenping Wu as new members of the Board. The Board has also unanimously approved appointments of Dr. Zhenping Wu as the President, Dr. Holly Yin as the Secretary, and Ms. Xiaoxing Liao as the Treasuerer of SABPA. All appointments are effective immediately.
5. The 7th Beijing Biotech & Pharmaceutical Development Forum
The 7th Beijing Biotech & Pharmaceutical Development Forum will resume on Sep. 12-14, 2003. The Forum was originally scheduled in May 2003 but was postponed due to outbreak of SARS. SABPA is one of the official sponsors to this event and provided 11 abstracts as potential speakers from all of its members. Based on the submitted abstracts, the organizers initially invited 5 speakers from SABPA (Drs. Sui-Xiong Cai, Chen-Chen Kan, Weiguo Su, Zhenping Wu, and Sharon Wampler of UCSD Extension). In addition, SABPA and UCSD Extension would conduct a joint training course on Drug Discovery & Development after the Forum. Since the program for the resumed Forum in September will be simplified, the organizer decided to invite Dr. Su as a keynote speaker, Dr. Wu as a speaker, and Dr. Guo to address the Forum with closing remarks on behalf of SABPA. In addition, eight free registrations are reserved for SABPA members while the regular registration fee is $350 USD per person (for free registration, contact huili@sabpa.org). Due to the shortened program, SABPA-UCSD workshop for the Forum has been cancelled this time. The forum series was initiated in 1997 with aims to promote the biotech and pharmaceutical industry in China. SABPA will continuously make efforts to cosponsor this event in the coming years. For more information about the forum, please visit
http://www.sabpa.org/About/Newsletters/23Jan2003/BJForum03Eng.doc (English) or http://www.sabpa.org/About/Newsletters/23Jan2003/BJForum03CH.doc (Chinese)
6. The 10th SCBA International Symposium
The 10th SCBA International Symposium has been reschedule to July 18-23, 2004. Originally scheduled for August 2003, this symposium was postponed due to concerns of SARS. The received and incoming abstracts will be kept in the archive and a new round of abstract submissions will be expected next year. The objective of the symposium is to understand the molecular basis of human health, to enhance the progress of genomics/proteomics and biotechnology, to promote global collaborations and to cultivate a new generation of scientists. For more information about the symposium, please visit http://www.scba2003.org.