Dear Members and Friends,
Happy New Year and welcome to 2010!
I’m very honored and privileged to serve as your Chair in 2010. Considering the success we had as a Section in 2009, I have quite an act to follow. We have had a banner year in 2009 for seminars, education outreach, and member events. In addition, we continued to expand committee functions, building on the new website, LinkedIn group, and electronic newsletter to build a complete e-communication package. I’m sure that as we go forward we will continue to be a dynamic, busy Section with many exciting and interesting events for 2010.
From an economic and employment standpoint, 2009 was a very challenging year, perhaps more challenging than anyone can recall in recent memory. As we stand on the cusp of a new decade, peering forward into the light, we may be justified in wondering if we see the end of a long tunnel. What we can agree upon is that the world of chemistry is undergoing rapid, even disconcerting, changes. My goal as your Chair is to stand together with you to meet these challenges with our emphasis on “Transitions in Chemistry.”
We will start 2010 with the monthly seminar series on January 18th by returning to our scientific roots. Dr. Brent Gaylord will present “Applications of High Sensitivity Fluorescence” to highlight his work at UC Santa Barbara and its transition into a fresh young San Diego company, Sirigen, in 2003. This work on advanced polymeric materials straddles the realms of biophysics, optoelectronics and materials science. Please visit our website at http://www.sandiegoacs.org for additional information on this and future events of your interest.
As always, one of the main goals of the Section is to serve our membership through our activities and events. I strongly encourage our membership to volunteer if through no other means than to provide us feed back and fresh ideas. The Section is only as strong as you, as members, make it. If you are interested in volunteering or simply want to suggest an event, speaker, or venue, please contact any board member or committee chair. I am always interested to hear from you, and I may be contacted at Chair@sandiegoacs.org.
Again, on behalf of the ACS Local Section board, I wish you a very happy and successful 2010!
Randy Smith, PhD
Chair 2010
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“Outsourcing and the
Changing Paradigm of Drug Discovery “
Richard M. Soll, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President of Integrated Services, WuXi AppTec
DATE: Wednesday, February 24, 2010
TIME: 6:00 PM Light Dinner
7:00 PM Lecture
PLACE: Sorrento Summit - 7475 Lusk Blvd, San Diego CA
RSVP: Monday, February 22, 2010
About the Speaker:
Dr. Richard M. Soll is currently Senior Vice President, Integrated Services, at WuXi AppTec. Previously he was the Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President, R&D, at the San Diego-based company TargeGen where he led innovative clinical-stage drug discovery and development programs for isoform-specific PI3K inhibitors as therapeutics for inflammation, respiratory disease and cancer, multitargeted src/VEGF inhibitors as the first topical kinase inhibitors for age-related macular degeneration and highly selective JAK2 inhibitors for the treatment of myeloproliferative disorders. Dr. Soll was the Vice President of Chemistry at Ontogen and also founded the chemistry department at 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals where he served as Vice President, Chemistry.
About the Lecture:
The landscape of drug discovery and development has changed dramatically over the several years in an effort to address the significant hurdles in advancing new entities to the market place as well as the challenges associated with success during the discovery and development process. In efforts to improve success and to stretch the R&D investments, outsourcing of core activities is playing a prominent role as one of several solutions to this dilemma. This presentation will highlight these changes, the role that WuXi AppTec plays in the outsourcing space and the changing role of the medicinal chemist in this dynamic environment .
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