Conference summary

An international scientific conference, “Interdisciplinary Conference on Drug Sciences ACCORD 2022” was held on 26-28 May 2022, at the Didactic Center of the Medical University of Warsaw (MUW) in Warsaw, Poland. The conference was organized by the Scientific Committee and Organizing Committee of the Faculty of Pharmacy, MUW.

The conference was held under the patronage of His Magnificence the Rector of MUW, the Mazovian Governor, the National Centre for Research and Development, the Polish Pharmaceutical Society, the Polish Society of Medicinal Chemistry, the Polish Society of Mass Spectrometry, the “Pro Farmacja Futura” Foundation and the Association for Good Clinical Research Practice in Poland.

The motto of the conference was “Synergy of interdisciplinary innovations”, and its topics covered a wide range of interdisciplinary drug research, from the design and molecular modeling of new structures, through the synthesis and development of drug forms to biological, preclinical and clinical studies.

Invited lectures were delivered by renowned scientists from European and American academic and industrial centers from, Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, the UK, and USA, and sponsored lectures were presented by scientists collaborating with companies sponsoring the Conference. In addition, Conference participants, selected by the Scientific Committee, presented their research results in the form of oral presentations and short poster presentations. All posters were also presented in printed form. The Conference was attended by 272 participants from academic centers, pharmaceutical and chemical companies from Austria, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Spain, the UK, Tanzania and USA.

There were 19 invited lectures and 5 sponsored lectures, 4 short presentations including two Stanislaw Biniecki Award winners and 4 communications. Posters (110) were presented, including 33 posters in the form of short presentations. Scientific sessions were conducted by members of the Scientific Committee and Organizing Committee. Relatively high coefficient of participants activity was noted (0.52). Every second participant of the Conference presented, in different form, the results of their research.

A panel discussion, with the participation of seven international experts, Professors Marcin Drąg, Jacek Jemielity, Oliver Plettenburg, Krzysztof Pyrć and Lidia Tajber, representing the scientific community, Ms. Marta Winiarska representing the Polish Association of Innovative Medical Biotechnology Companies, and Dr. Rafał Kamiński representing the pharmaceutical company Angelini Pharma, met with great interest. The discussion focused on the current conditions and prospects for research on original medicines, with particular emphasis on the changes that have occurred in this area during the pandemic.

The conference was certified by INFARMA, which confirms that it meets ethical standards arising from the Code of Transparency and the Code of Good Practice of the Pharmaceutical Industry. As a result, the Conference was sponsored by pharmaceutical and chemical companies, and accompanied by an exhibition of Sponsors and Exhibitors. Platinum Sponsor of the Conference was Pfizer Poland, Scientific Partner – Pro-Environment, Gold Sponsors – Biofarm, Pikralida, Sandoz and Shim-Pol, Silver Sponsors – Anchem, F1 Pharma, Gedeon Richter, Polish Association of Pharmaceutical Industry Employers – National Medicines Manufacturers, TriMen Chemicals and MedChemExpress, Phenomenex, Spektrometria, Tarchomińskie Zakłady Farmaceutyczne Polfa, Thea and USP Zdrowie. Conference publications are published in a special issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, with an IF of 5.923 and 140 points MEN, and Acta Poloniae Pharmaceutica – Drug Research, with 100 points MEN.

During the Conference numerous scientific awards were presented. Two equal Professor Stanisław Biniecki Scientific Awards, for outstanding achievements in drug research, were given by the Award Committee to Dr Anna Czarna for a series of scientific papers on the application of structural biology methods in drug discovery and to Dr Wioletta Rut for a series of scientific papers on biological chemistry.

The Competition Committee awarded the Polish Society of Medicinal Chemistry Award for the best poster in medicinal chemistry to Mr. Michał Nowacki, poster 043″ Structure-based design of new pyrazolo[4,3-c]pyrimidine as PEX14-PEX5 Protein Protein Interaction (PPI) inhibitors” and two honorable mentions, to Ms. Mariola Stypik, poster 005 “CPL302415 – pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivative as a novel, very active and selective PI3Kδ inhibitor, highly potent drug candidate for SLE and other inflammatory and autoimmune diseases” and Mr. Juan L. Perez, poster 080 “De novo foldameric mini-protein as inhibitors of PD-1/PD-L1 interaction”.

Young scientist awards for outstanding posters went to: Mr. Ronald Mallea, poster 006 “Analysis on the use of personalized medicines produced via 2D and 3D printers”, Ms. Magdalena Chalecka poster 007 “The role of oxidative stress in prolidase-dependent chemotherapy resistance of breast cancer cells MCF7”, Ms. Joanna Stocka poster 036 “Kinetics of the conformational changes of the valeric acid in the nitrogen matrix: experiment meets theory at finite temperature”, Ms Dorota Chelminiak-Dudkiewicz poster 056 “Chitosan-based materials with natural active substance for wound healing”, Mr Juan L. Pérez, poster 080 “De novo foldameric mini-protein as inhibitors of PD-1/PD-L1 interaction” and Mr. Robert Nawrot poster 104 “Latex of Chelidonium majus – a rich source of potent bioactive compounds”.

The presenters of the distinguished posters received financial awards.

Due to the great interest in the first international scientific conference in the history of Polish pharmacy, the next conference, ACCORD 2024, will be held on 23-25 May 2024.