Inauguration by ISCR President, Dr Arun Bhatt with IPA President Dr B Suresh.
Launch of a quarterly journal and featured tracks by national/ international experts on clinical research, CDM, Biostatistics & Medical Writing.
The Indian Society for Clinical Research (ISCR) today inaugurated its 3rd Annual conference in Bengaluru, highlighting the start of its 2 day session at Hotel Leela Kempinski. ISCR President, Dr Arun Bhatt (President, Clininvent Research Pvt. Ltd.), inaugurated the conference, themed ‘Science, Business & Society in the presence of the IPA President Dr B Suresh. This is the first clinical research conference to have more than 500 registrations for participation, owing to the quality of speakers and the level of platform created by ISCR. At the event, ISCR launched its first journal for the clinical research industry titled ‘Perspectives in Clinical Research’ comprising insights of the best minds in the space with new views on the clinical research landscape.
The journal is available in print and online at www.iscr.org/journal . As a quarterly journal it is positioned to build a ‘learning clinical research community’ in India. The scientific journal will have a broad range of topics across clinical research including the methodology, research ethics, CDM, biostatistics through original contributions, news, views, perspectives as well as book reviews.
Post the ceremony, the day witnessed a valuable exchange of views featuring panel discussions and speaker series on clinical research, CDM, Medical Writing and Biostatistics between experts across the globe hailing from leading CRO’s and regulatory panels. The chief guests and keynote speakers shared their insights on the clinical research developments and importance that the industry holds in molding it ahead.
In the clinical research track, regulatory issues were addressed by Dr Suresh Menon of Novartis India, Dr Bobby George of Reliance Life Sciences India, Dr Radhika Bobba of Anhvita Biopharm Consulting, Sumati Randeo of Abott Vascular India with the legal angle by Mr Thiruvengadam of Thiru and Thiru India. With the industry being brushed by ethics, the conference discussed ethical challenges with vulnerable population from stakeholders like Dr Radhika Bobba, Dr Manish Shah of Pfizer India, Dr Nagasubbramaniam of Manipal Health and Dr Mohandas of Tata Memorial Center, moderated by Dr Urmila Thate of KEM Hospital. The track concluded with research methodology discussions on end points in oncology trials, design of Phase I studies and NIS studies by Dr Anurita Majumdar of Eli Lilly India, Dr Viraj Suvarna and Dr Rajyadhaksha of Pfizer India, Dr Usharani of Nizam’s Institute of Medical Science and Dr Mohandas.
The CDM, Medical writing and Biostatistics tracks began with discussions on data standards CDISC by Dr Suresh Bowalekar of Pharmanet Clinical Services, Dr Steve Wilson of FDA USA, Mr. Anilkumar of Novartis, Mr. Kalyan Gopalkrishnan and Mr. Ilango Ramanujam of TAKE Solutions. By delving into other challenging areas of CDM, there were discussions on advanced statistical concepts in clinical trials by Dr Laxminarayan of Merck Research Laboratories, Dr Bhattacharya of Glaxo Smithkline Pharma, Dr Mary Johnson of Pharmanet Development Group, Dr Ram Tiwari of FDA and Dr Tandon of Genzyme Corporate Inc. The day concluded with a track on quality and data integration by Dr Tandon, Dr Nema of TCS, Dr Handleman, SAS Institute Inc, Dr Sunil Singh and Dr Salil Varma of DBMS Consulting Inc.
Speaking on the conference, ISCR President, Dr Arun Bhatt (President, Clininvent Research Pvt. Ltd.) said, “This is the first time ISCR has hosted the Annual conference in Bangalore and we are thrilled with the response. This conference has conducted very insightful workshops over the last two days. The conference tracks today have established the need to create such platforms and engage in mutually benefiting discussions that will help the industry’s evolution. By focusing on aspects like ethics, regulatory issues and legal challenges we are constantly trying to resolve any conflict that may arise for the stakeholders. By coming together in this ISCR platform, we are able to establish a unifying force in creating new benchmarks. We look forward to the discussions tomorrow showcasing another set of relevant areas like advances in clinical research amongst others. We are grateful to the speakers, sponsors and participants of this event, for making it a successful platform urging ISCR to conduct more such conferences across the country”.
For details on sessions, speakers and other information for Day 2, please visit: www.iscr.org/conference
About ISCR
ISCR, founded in Aug 2005 as a not for profit association of clinical research professionals registered under the Societies Registration Act (1860), is a forum of clinical research organizations/ professionals to build awareness of clinical research and facilitate its growth in the country while evolving the highest standards of quality and ethics. Today, ISCR is the catalyst fuelling the growth and development of the clinical research industry, as a niche professional body representing all stakeholders of the industry. The Society conducts its annual scientific conference in January every year to collaborate and discuss issues related to the clinical research industry in India mapped against a global footprint. ISCR South Chapter was launched in August 2008.