title: Polymer therapeutics - Sixth International Symposium: from laboratory to clinical practice. Industrial development and clinical evaluation.
abstract: This biannual conference was organized, as is now customary, by Professor Ruth Duncan of the Welsh School of Pharmacy and focused on novel technology and pharmaceutical compounds in the area of polymer therapeutics. This meeting has established itself as an important interface between discovery research and preclinical and clinical development in this field. Sufficient time was allocated for informal interaction between the delegates, which allowed for plenty of discussion and initiation of collaboration. The emphasis in most presentations was on the use of polymers and dendrimers as active ingredients, or for conjugation with other entities for the purpose of improving drug properties such as pharmacodynamic (PD) and pharmacokinetic (PK) profile, drug handling, or targeting and delivery. Several talks and posters focused on novel and proven techniques for the biophysical characterization of polymer constructs and their metabolites. To date, the most successful therapeutic class are conjugates of polymers to protein drugs; six drugs are approved and approximately a dozen are in various stages of clinical development. However, several covalent and non-covalent conjugates of small-molecule cancer chemotherapy agents are now in more advanced clinical trials, and several other polymer constructs and dendrimers are in early clinical trials. This meeting clearly demonstrated that there are many promising approaches for the application of a variety of polymers, but that the viability of many of the approaches still needs to be proven in late-stage clinical trials as well as in the market place.
authors.affiliation: Gryphon Therapeutics Inc, 600 Gateway Boulevard, South San Francisco, CA 94080-7014, USA. gerd@gryphonRx.com
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kochendoerfer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D017321:Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic; D004337:Drug Carriers; D015195:Drug Design; D000069585:Filgrastim; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009944:Organoplatinum Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D011108:Polymers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments; D009944:Organoplatinum Compounds; D011108:Polymers; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D000069585:Filgrastim