Workshop Details

Day - 01

16th April 2020

Workshop - 1

Workshop on Clinical Pharmacology of Tuberculosis Drugs

Current Scenario in India:

"The International Workshop on Clinical Pharmacology of Tuberculosis Drugs"

The treatment of tuberculosis is increasingly becoming a challenge worldwide. All around the world experts in the field are involved in intensive research to be able to cope with the various concerns with regard to treatment.

The aim of this abstract-driven workshop is to make a significant contribution to the optimization of TB treatment, by bringing experts together and having them present and discuss the latest important scientific findings in the TB clinical pharmacology field. Additionally, scientific, regulatory or strategy issues that are highly relevant to the optimization of TB treatment will be exchanged and discussed.

India has highest multi-drug resistant TB cases

Over 21.5 million tuberculosis (TB) cases were recorded in 2018, which is 17 percent higher than the year before, suggests the Annual India TB Report 2019. Uttar Pradesh has the highest TB burden (20 Percent), followed by Maharashtra (10 percent) and Rajasthan (7 percent). The country has also recorded a spike in TB in HIV-infected people from 43,253 cases in 2017 to 50,000 cases a year later. Besides, over 0.5 million cases of TB can be attributed to diabetes. The percentage of paediatric TB cases have also gone up. According to the 2019 report, as many as 133,059 paediatric TB patients were notified, which is over 6 percent of the total notified cases. In the last report, the corresponding figure was only 6 percent. The country also recorded high drug-resistant tuberculosis. India has 26,966 MDR-TB (multi-drug resistant TB) patients, the highest in the world, and 2, 130 XDR-TB patients.

NEEDS STATEMENTS

The treatment of tuberculosis is increasingly becoming a challenge worldwide. All around the world experts in the field are involved in intensive research to be able to cope with the various concerns with regard to treatment.

The aim of this abstract-driven workshop is to make a significant contribution to the optimization of TB treatment, by bringing experts together and having them present and discuss the latest important scientific findings in the TB clinical pharmacology field. Additionally, scientific, regulatory or strategy issues that are highly relevant to the optimization of TB treatment have be exchanged and discussed.

MEETING OBJECTIVES

• Understand drug discovery and development, novel therapeutic agents, and viral targets for HIV and emerging viruses
• Develop sustained drug release formulations to enhance compliance and simplify treatment
• Provide insights on novel immunological approaches compatible with clinical drug development
• Understand antiviral therapy in different populations
• Discuss emerging viruses, treatments and their impact

PROGRAM DIRECTOR:

Biography:

Lt.Gen.Dr.D.Raghunath PVSM, AVSM (retd.), is Principal Executive, Sir Dorabji Tata Centre for Research in Tropical Diseases, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore. He is a medical graduate from Grant Medical College, Mumbai (then Bombay). He holds a Diploma in Clinical Pathology and MD in Pathology / Bacteriology from Poona University, Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and is a Fellow National Academy of Medical Sciences. Lt. Gen. Raghunath has been Professor and Head of Microbiology of the Armed Forces Medical College in the 1980s and later its Dean and Commandant. He was elevated as the Director-General, (Indian) Armed Forces Medical Services and retired from the appointment in 1997. In recognition of his distinguished service he has been awarded the Param Vishist Seva Medal and the Ati Vishist Seva Medal. He has served on the Advisory Committees of a number of research institutes National Institute of Virology, Pune, National AIDS Research Institute, Pune, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata. Presently his is with ICMR Virus-Unit, Kolkata, Regional Medical Research Centre for Tribals, Jabalpur, National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai etc. He also consults with the Indian Council of Medical Research and other national governmental bodies on Infectious Diseases matters particularly emerging infections and microbial containment facilities. He has published about 40 papers in international and national journals and his research areas include: rickettsial diseases, streptococcal infections and antibiotic susceptibility, testing and assay. He is on the Indian National Advisory Board of International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.

Program Schedule:

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Day - 01

16th April 2020

Workshop - 2

Workshop on Molecular Diagnosis of Human Viral Infectious Diseases

The advanced molecular technology / methods have cemented the earlier gap in our knowledge of genetic insight of various viral infectious diseases. Unraveling the mystery of the various genes has opened a pandroma box of new stable, unique and conserved genetic markers which are increasingly being explored with various tools of molecular biology not only for the rapid sensitive and specific identification of infectious diseases, but also for vaccine and drug development. Currently, Virology laboratory, have not only enhanced its spectrum of diagnostic services for various viral agents like pdmH1N1, Zika, Dengue, Chikungunya, JE, HBV, HCV, HSV, VZV, CMV, Enteroviruses and HPV, but are also intensely involved in significant research having substantial impact on public health.

Thus, it is now mandatory for not only scientists, but also Medical Microbiologists to understand and upgrade their knowledge and skills in molecular diagnosis of viral diseases.

Agenda of the Workshop

1. Paradigm shift in diagnosis of human viral infectious diseases from conventional to molecular approach.
2. Importance of appropriate sampling and transportation in diagnosis of Viral infectious diseases.
3. Biosafety precautions required in the molecular diagnostic laboratory.
4. Optimal use of Biomedical waste disposal guidelines in molecular diagnostic laboratory.
5. Micropipette calibration in laboratory.
6. Viral DNA / RNA extraction (Conventional and column based approach).
7. Estimation of purity of Viral RNA / DNA and its concentration.
8. Primer and probe designing.
9. Real Time PCR.
10. Viral load estimation (HBV / HPV).
11. Genotyping / Serotyping.
12. Nucleotide sequencing.
13. Submission of Nucleotide sequences in GeneBank.
14. Phylogenetic analysis.

PROGRAM DIRECTOR:

I obtained my MD degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and trained in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Since 2001, our laboratory team has been engaged in translational drug development research using animal and in vitro models of tuberculosis. This work has informed the clinical development of moxifloxacin, rifapentine, bedaquiline, pretomanid, clofazimine and oxazolidinones, as well as novel regimens comprising one or more of these drugs, for treatment of active and latent tuberculosis. My positions on the scientific agenda-setting committees of the TB Trials Consortium (TBTC) and the AIDS Clinical Trials Group’s TB Transformative Science Group and co-chairing the Preclinical and Clinical Sciences Working Group of the Critical Path to TB Regimens initiative, have facilitated the efficient translation of pre-clinical results to inform clinical trial designs. More recently, our efforts have expanded to include drug and regimen development for Buruli ulcer, a neglected tropical disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, and chronic lung infections caused by the Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium abscessus complexes. Our work has been sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and a number of pharmaceutical sponsors and other private foundations.

Program Schedule:

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Day - 02

17th April 2020

Workshop - 1

Workshop on Training on Hospital Management for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)

These viruses cause a disease characterized by systemic viral replication, immune suppression, abnormal inflammatory responses, major fluid and electrolyte losses, and high mortality. Despite recent progress on vaccines, and with no licensed prophylaxis or treatment available, case management is essentially supportive with management of serve multiple organ failure resulting from immune-mediated cell damage. The 2013 - 16 outbreak was classified by WHO as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, which drew attention to the challenges of diseases caused by infections with ebolaviruses and questioned scientific, clinical and societal preparation to handle future epidemics.

This outbreak was also unique in that it triggered the initiation and implementation of comprehensive research programmes into ebolavirus-related pathology, which has led to major scientific advances. This seminar reviews available knowledge about the epidemiology disease manifestation, pathophysiology, case management and community control of these diseases.

PROGRAM DIRECTOR:

Gerry is Professor of Infection Pharmacology and Honorary Consultant in Infectious Diseases at the University of Liverpool. He qualified in Medicine at the University of Southampton Medical School in 1991. He ran the TB programme at Hlabisa hospital, Kwazulu/Natal, South Africa from 1994-1998, later obtaining an MSc in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Liverpool. From 2007-2009, he was based at the Mahidol-Oxford Research Unit in Bangkok where he worked on clinical PK-PD studies of anti-tuberculosis and influenza therapy and subsequently as theme leader in HIV-TB pharmacology at the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Unit in Blantyre, Malawi (2012-2014). He is an editor for the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group, specialising in tuberculosis and has extensive experience of Phase II and III clinical trials in tuberculosis in differing roles. He was the academic co-ordinator of PreDiCT-TB, an Innovative Medicines Initiative supported consortium addressing preclinical development of combination regimens for tuberculosis and since 2012 has participated in the WHO Taskforces for the development of new policies for the treatment of tuberculosis and pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of tuberculosis drugs. Gerry is a member of LIV-TB, the cross-campus tuberculosis research interest group and a longstanding lecturer on the DTM&H tuberculosis and fever modules.

Program Schedule: