Indo-Caribbean International Conference held at I.T.S College of Pharmacy
I.T.S College of Pharmacy in collaboration with APP West Indies International Branch organized an Indo-Caribbean International Conference on “Trends and Challenges in Drug Design, Discovery and Pharmaceutical Sciences” on 15th February, 2025.
Opening remarks for the Conference was given by Arpit Chadha, Vice Chairman, I.T.S – The Education Group. He praised the landmark event that brought together researchers, academicians, industry professionals, and policymakers from across the globe.
The Association of Pharmacy Professionals (APP) honoured Dr. R.P Chadha – Chairman, Arpit Chadha – Vice Chairman and B.K Arora – Secretary, I.T.S – The Education Group with Appreciation Awards for their patronage. This conference witnessed around 900 delegates from various Universities and Institutions of India & abroad and served as a multidisciplinary platform for discussing cutting-edge advancements and the challenges faced in the ever-evolving field of pharmaceutical sciences. During this event, eminent experts from industry and academia provided an avenue for fostering collaborations, exchanging innovative ideas, and promoting interdisciplinary research between India and the Caribbean nations.
The program commenced with the arrival of guests, delegates and lamp lighting ceremony. This was followed by a welcome address by the Convener of the Conference, Dr. S. Sadish Kumar – Director, I.T.S College of Pharmacy featuring esteemed dignitaries, keynote speakers, and representatives from academia, and industry. He registered his appreciation wherein the conference can bridge the gap between drug discovery and development to equip the students with upgraded knowledge on drug designing emphasized on fostering a culture of knowledge-sharing and innovation, as the pharmaceutical industry can drive breakthroughs in treating complex diseases, ensuring faster and more effective drug development while improving global healthcare outcomes.
Mr. Surinder Sood, Director – PR, I.T.S – The Education Group welcomed all the guests and delegates to the event that covered crucial aspects of drug design and discovery, emphasizing the latest technological advancements, novel therapeutic approaches, and regulatory perspectives.He highlighted this as an opportunity to learn about drug discovery as the future belongs to researchers. He urged the usage of AI coherence to create the future of mankind through digital designing. He also emphasized that Ayurveda is a benchmark gift of India to the world and humanity that can minimize the ADR of drugs.
Prof. Rajiv Dahiya (Guest), Faculty of Medical Sciences, Trinidad & Tobago gave a talk on the theme of conference emphasizing on advancements in target-based drug discovery, challenges in natural product-based drug development, innovations in formulation science and drug delivery systems, regulatory and ethical considerations in drug development and integration of artificial intelligence in drug design. He elaborated about APP society and thanked the management of I.T.S College of Pharmacy for providing them with an opportunity for organizing the conference in collaboration.
Dr. Simone Faye Walcott, Co-convener & Vice-President, APP West Indies International Branch explained the objective of the conference was to strengthen academic and industrial partnerships between India and the Caribbean in the pharmaceutical sector. She spoke about the serendipity in the field of drug discovery that is both complex and dynamic. She also discussed the strategies to explore innovative drug discovery that can provide a platform for emerging researchers to showcase their work and gain insights from industry leaders.
This was followed by unveiling the souvenir for the international conference. The conference progressed further with 3 scientific sessions wherein the experts delivered plenary talks on a variety of topics.The inaugural session was on “Cyclopeptides of Biological Interest: Synthetic and Pharmacological Perspectives” by Prof. Rajiv Dahiya (Guest), Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago.
Session II was taken by Prof. Ajay Sharma, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, DPSRU on “Quality Control and Standardization of Medicinal Plant Materials”.
Session III was engaged by Prof. Jyoti Shrivastava, School of Healthcare and Allied Sciences, G.D. Goenka University on “Healing through Sound: ASMR’s Impact on Alzheimer’s and Neurotransmitter Disorders”.
The scientific sessions were followed by Q & A session by delegates. All the queries of the participants were well addressed by the speakers. All the participants were extremely co-operative throughout the conference.
Post-lunch, a dedicated session for young researchers and postgraduate students was arranged, where they presented their findings in the form of posters and oral presentations. These sessions provided an opportunity for networking and constructive feedback from experienced professionals. The participants were evaluated for their presentation and winners were selected as per their performances. Online e-posters and e-oral presentations were conducted on 13th and 14th Feb 2025, which were evaluated by experts thoroughly.
To acknowledge excellence in pharmaceutical research, awards were presented in various categories, including: best oral presentation award, best poster presentation award, best M. Pharm student award to Mr. Himanshu Tyagi (Male) & Ms. Medha Tyagi (Female), best performer award to Ms. Vishvanshi Tyagi (M.Pharm Student) and best talent award to Dr. Shalini K. Sawhney (Professor) for overall outstanding activities.
Towards the end, Dr. Sagarika Majhi, Professor gave her concluding remarks for the conference where she appreciated the students for their hard work on poster and oral preparation. She also thanked the speakers for their enlightening presentation on biological cyclopeptides, standardization of medicinal plant materials and healing through sound in neuronal diseases. Dr. Rajkumari, Professor & Dean gave the vote of thanks and the program concluded with an energetic national anthem.
Ms. Swati Verma (Asst. Prof.) along with Mr. Manish Kumar (Asst. Prof.) smoothly anchored the conference. The registration and certificate committee distributed the kits and certificates to all the participants. The function was successfully co-ordinated by Dr. Rajkumari, Dean and jointly co-ordinated by Dr. Iti Chauhan (Prof.), Dr. Sagarika Majhi (Prof.) and Mr. Avinash Bajpai (Asst. Prof.). All the volunteers worked throughout the conference from registration check-in to delegates’ check-out. The organizers extended special thanks and gratitude to all the speakers, sponsors, participants, and volunteers for their unwavering support and contribution in making this international conference a grand success.
