Controlled release society – Indian Chapter (CRSIC) organized its 21st International symposium on 24th and 25th February 2023 at Mukesh Patel Auditorium, NMIMS, Mumbai. The theme of the symposium was “Advances in Technology and Business Potential of New Drug Delivery Systems” This was an in-person event organized unlike past two years wherein the symposia were organized on virtual platform due to COVID pandemic. Totally, 350 delegates from across the country participated in the symposium of whom 80% were from academia including students and faculty and 20% were from the pharma and allied industry. All the delegates, invitees, and speakers had a wonderful interaction and networking opportunities during the course of the Symposium and networking dinner.
143 posters were presented over the 2 days of the symposium. A selfie booth was set up for delegates to take a selfie and upload on the social media. Like earlier two years, CRSIC continued with “Go Green Drive to Save Planet” initiative. As a part of this drive, each invited speaker at the symposium was presented with a “Go Green Certificate”. This year, a tree would be planted in honour of the speaker at Harisingh Gour University, Sagar. The trees would be the epitome of the ever-lasting bond between the speakers and the CRSIC.
The inaugural function began with the lighting of the auspicious lamp by the dignitaries namely Dr. Viranchi Shah, Dr. Sanyog Jain, Mr. Ajit Singh, Dr. Parizad Elchidana and Dr. Vandana Patravale. Lighting of lamp was followed by the recital of invocation song by Dr Madhur Kulkarni. Dr. Parizad Elchidana, Principal Technical Consultant – Pharma, ACG World, and President – CRSIC gave the Presidential address. Dr. Viranchi Shah, President of Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association was the chief guest of the inaugural function. In his keynote address, he emphasized on the importance of research and innovation in the field of pharmaceuticals to take the 50 million dollar pharma industry to 500 million dollars worth by 2025.
Dr. Vandana Patravale, Professor of Pharmaceutics at Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai and Vice President of CRSIC briefed the audience about the CRSIC Newsletter and the e-abstract book. The newsletter and e-abstract book were released at the hands of the dignitaries. Dr. Vandana informed the audience about the Lifetime Achievement Award instituted by CRSIC. Mr. Ajit Singh, Chairman, Associated Capsules Group was declared as the recipient of this award. He was presented with the citation and shawl at the hands of Dr. Viranchi Shah. Mr. Ajit Singh during his address highlighted the importance of industry participation in the activities of CRSIC. Dr. Sanyog Jain, Professor, NIPER-Mohali was invited as a Guest of Honour. He gave an impactful presentation on nanoparticle -based delivery of cisplatin prodrugs in the treatment of breast cancer. The inaugural program concluded with the vote of thanks proposed by Dr. Madhur Kulkarni, Professor and HOD-Pharmaceutics, SCES’s Indira College of Pharmacy, Pune and Secretary, CRSIC
Dr. Amarjit Singh, CEO of NeuEra Pharmaceutical Technology Services and ex- President CRSIC chaired the 1st scientific session. Mr. John Dibella, President, Lancaster division, Simulations Plus, USA delivered an impressive presentation on application of physiologically based biopharmaceutics modelling to accelerate new product development and informed regulatory decisions. His talk was followed by Dr. Kamal Dua’s presentation on plant- based therapeutic interventions in the treatment of lung diseases. Dr. Dua is a senior lecturer at University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. The scientific session was followed by lunch and a highly interactive poster presentation session.
Post lunch session included Tech showcase presentation by Ms. Karishma Patil of ShinEtsu, She spoke on solid dispersion by hot melt extrusion (HME) using Shin-Etsu Aquacoat (HPMCAS) Mr. Umakant Kanna of BASF gave an insightful presentation on “Using the full design space poly(vinyl acetate) provides in the formulation of directly compressible sustained release tablets.” Tech showcase presentation by Mr. Ankit Patel of Ideal Cures Ltd was focussed on Film coatings without titanium dioxide. The session was efficiently chaired by Dr. Pavan Kumar, Vice President, R&D, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd.
Dr. Sajeev Chandran, Director- ADDS Research, Generics, Packaging & IVIVC/ Biopharm, Lupin Ltd. chaired the last scientific session of the day. The session included the talk by Dr. Swati Biswas, Associate Professor, BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad. Her presentation on Nanomedicines to 3D- printed contact lens for better therapeutic outcomes was very well received by the participants and involved excellent interaction in the form of questions and answers. Dr. Mo. Maniruzzaman, Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin, USA delivered an online session on an interesting topic of 3D printing and its role in drug delivery.
Day 1 program concluded with the networking dinner which was organized at Juhu Club Millennium. This was a wonderful gathering full of Indian delicacies, music, and dance. The student delegates enthusiastically sang the songs and many participants, organizing members as well as the speakers danced to their tunes. This was the first CRSIC symposium wherein a dinner was hosted for all the participants.
Dr. Sujata Sawarkar, Professor, Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy, and Executive Committee member nicely coordinated day 2 of the symposium, CRSIC. The theme of the first session was nanotechnology and the session was very aptly chaired by Dr. Vandana Patravale. Dr. Mahavir Chougule, Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy, Mercer University, USA in his online presentation explained an interesting and in-depth work on lipidic nanocarrier-based pulmonary and parenteral delivery for the treatment of lung cancer. Dr. Avi Schroeder in his outstanding talk covered a huge span of his work involving nanoparticles and synthetic cells for treating cancer and neurogenerative disorders. Dr. Avi is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Head of Targeted drug delivery and personalized Medicine Group, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Israel. He is also serving as a President of the CRS Israel local chapter and is current Secretary at CRS. Dr. Hèlder Santos, Professor in Biomedical Engineering, University of Groningen, Netherlands, explained his research on nanobiomaterials for enhanced tumor accumulation, antitumor effect, and cardiac repair. All these talks stirred lot of interaction between the speakers and the delegates in the form of questions and answers. Dr. Aliasgar Shahiwala, Professor, Dubai Pharmacy College, UAE was the invited speaker who began the next scientific session with his impactful presentation on considering the rationale and translational potential while developing novel drug delivery systems. Mr. Samir Hiddouchi, Managing Director, SOTAX Pharma Services, France presented some interesting case studies on in vitro release testing of medical devices. These sessions were chaired by Dr. Dhiraj Chopra, Vice President, R&D, Endo Pharmaceuticals.
The last scientific session of Day 2 was chaired by Dr. Padma Devarajan, Senior Professor and Dean of Pharmacy at Institute of Chemical Technology and a patron member of CRSIC. The session began with the online presentation of Dr. Abhijit Date, Assistant Professor, R K Coit College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, USA. He spoke on a novel and intriguing topic of Ionic liquids and their applications in translational drug delivery and nanomedicine. Dr. Prajakta Dandekar, BUGC Asst. Professor, Engineering Sciences, Institute of Chemical Technology, India delivered an excellent talk on In vitro models of retinal diseases for biological and preclinical research.
Valedictory function
Dr. Avi Schroeder was invited to be the chief guest of the valedictory function. The awards for the best poster presenters were given away by Dr. Avi. During his address, Dr. Avi praised the Indian Chapter for organizing the outstanding symposium, the science being presented by Indian researchers as well as the Indian hospitality.
Prof. H. L. Bhalla Young Scientist Award
Ms. Deepa Chaturvedi, ICT, Mumbai
Modelling of human skin micro physiological system for preclinical evaluation of drugs
1st Prize
Mr. Asif Mohomad Itoo, BITS, Hyderabad
Polymeric graphene oxide nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin for combined photothermal and chemotherapy in triple negative breast cancer.
2nd Prize
Mr. Virendra Gajbhiye, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune
Treptorelin conjugated PAMAM dendrimers efficiently down regulateMCL-1 gene in vitro and in vivo for treatment of breast and prostate cancer.
3rd Prize
Ms. Trinette Fernandes, Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy, Mumbai
Design and development of disulfiram loaded vaginal nanocarrier system for cervical cancer.
Consolation Prize
Mr. Purshottam Suryavanshi, NIPER, Guwahati
Stimuli responsive self-folding feedstock for pharmaceutical 4D printing-A paradigm shift
Sponsorships
The symposium was generously sponsored by the Pharma and Allied industry
Sun Pharma – Platinum sponsor
ACG – Gold Sponsor
Shobhaben Pratapbhai Patel School of Pharmacy & Technology Management, Narsee Munji Institute of Management Studies, and Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy were the Venue Co-hosts
The Tech Showcase sponsors were ShinEtsu, BASF and Ideal Cures.
SOTAX and Electrolab had sponsored through their Table Exhibits.
Toshvin Analyticals, PharmaDEM Solutions, VJ Instruments, Tatyasaheb Kore College of Pharmacy were the Advertisers in CRSIC Newsletter
CRSIC Executive committee members including Dr. Yogeshwar Bacchav, Dr. Sujata Sawarkar, Prof. N. Udupa, Dr. John Disouza, Dr. Anil Pethe, Dr. Nilesh Mahajan, Dr. Subham Banerjee, Dr. Sandhya Shenoy, Dr. Saikat Ghosh, Dr. Pranav Shah, student representative Mr. Nikhar Vishwakarma were involved in organizing the symposium. Mr. Tarun Soni, Director, Novel Innovative Concepts Interactive Pvt. Ltd very efficiently managed abstract evaluation process, memberships, registrations, website and social media, communication with poster presenters and participants, designing of flyers, standees, banners, and stationery, He was also involved in managing the hybrid sessions. Mr. Christopher complemented Mr. Tarun with photography and videography during the symposium. Mrs. Prema Saldanha from ACG supported with the registration formalities, M/S Pai & Moorthy Associates offered very prompt and efficient accounting services to facilitate the registrations, sponsorships, and expenses. Almost 22 students from ICT and BNCP supported the organising committee as Volunteers and were key to the successful conduct of the symposium.