2008 Events Agenda

Current Topics in Carbohydrate Biotechnology

An annual course of the BioUpdate Foundation and the Biotechnology Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry, to be held at Nottingham University from 10 to 11 April 2008.

The science and biotechnology of large carbohydrate molecules and their derivatives is of major importance in the Life and Ecological Sciences and in several branches of industry, because of the attributes of these large, environmentally friendly (and largely biomedically non-toxic) molecules. This course provides an overview of the diverse properties of carbohydrates, how there are produced and characterised and how their properties can be adapted for particular needs.

Residual Water - its significance, measurement and control

An interactive workshop on 9 June 2008 at the Novartis Foundation, London, UK.

All solid organic materials existing in the earth's ecosphere, based mainly on carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, are sensitive to water, but in varying degrees. The water content of such materials is generally referred to as 'residual moisture'. Its possible influence on the solid, substrate is still open to much discussion and dispute in various branches of science, technology and related IP and regulatory issues. This is the first time that the Foundation has attempted such an innovative course on a specific topic of considerable importance. This one-day workshop is designed to take stock of current knowledge relating to important aspects of 'residual moisture', especially in pharmaceutical, healthcare and food products.

Carbohydrate-Based Vaccines

This course will be held on 13 and 14 October 2008 in Amersfoort, the Netherlands.

Many important diseases are caused by bacteria expressing cell surface carbohydrates, and where antibody responses against these glycans are protective against disease. This offers a mechanism to create protective immunity, which is now being widely exploited.

This intensive post-experience course, which was run very successfully in 2007, covers the development of polysaccharide and glycoconjugate vaccines, their manufacture and quality control, and those factors considered crucial for an effective product. The molecular mechanisms by which these vaccines work and clinical trial and post licensure monitoring of their effects will also be covered.

Low Molecular Weight Heparins

This course will be held on 10 and 11 November 2008 in Amersfoort, the Netherlands.

Unfractionated heparin and low molecular weight heparin are two of the most widely used parenteral anticoagulants. Heparin is a naturally occurring polysaccharide with a complex but not chaotic structure. The development of low molecular weight heparins and other heparin derivatives and mimetics has added the prospect of an expanding and exciting future.

The use of heparin is increasing worldwide and current developments in its manufacture include the consequences of patent expiry for some low molecular weight heparin products, and the development of new products designed to exploit potentially useful non-anticoagulant properties of heparin.