Professional development in therapeutics

The ARCS Annual Scientific Congress will be held in Sydney on 5 and 6 June.

Catering to a wide audience in the therapeutic industry, the congress will bring together clinical, regulatory, quality, medical affairs, medical information, pharmacovigilance and soft skills.

With 46 sessions covering topics from the regulation of biologicals and practical aspects of running clinical trials to medicines and devices, the congress promises to include something of interest for people from industry, researchers and academics.

Keynote speakers include Professor Henry Brodaty, Professor of Psychogeriatrics at the University of New South Wales, who will give an overview of the outcomes of the recently formalised McKeon Review; Dr John Skerritt, National Manager of the Therapeutic Goods Association; Professor John Mattick, Executive Director of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research; Dr Mark Shackleton, Medical Oncologist and Group Leader of the Melanoma Research Laboratory at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and recipient of the 2012 Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year; and Dr Ken Harvey, Adjunct Associate Professor of Public Health at La Trobe University.

Topics covered in conference sessions will include:

• updates on pharmacovigilance including new guidelines on reporting adverse drug reactions;
• discussions about the implications of the regulation of biologicals -  human cells and tissues as opposed to biological medicines such as antibodies, peptides and proteins, and blood products, which have pre-existing regulatory frameworks - in Australia;
• developing clinical trial protocols and understanding the design of trials as well as practical aspects involved in running a clinical trial site;
• bench to bedside research;
• medical devices;
• discussion about the development of Business Process Reforms for over-the-counter medicines;
• ethics and governance and insights into the Human Research Ethics Committees process.

Early bird registration closes on 19 April. 

ARCS Australia (previously the Association of Regulatory and Clinical Scientists) is a not-for-profit professional development association for people working in the development of therapeutic goods. Founded in 1984, ARCS serves people committed to therapeutics development in Australia by providing education and training to industry and non-industry personnel.