Shen Hong, head of pharmaceutical chemistry at the Shanghai Roche R&D Center delivers opening remarks at the 2018 Roche-RSC International Symposium on Scientific Frontiers to Enable Drug Discovery in Shanghai, June 1. [Photo/bsc.org. cn]

The 2018 Roche-RSC International Symposium on Scientific Frontiers to Enable Drug Discovery was held in Shanghai from June 1-2, attracting more than 600 professors, teachers and students from academic circles.

The symposium was organized by pharma giant Roche, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), ShanghaiTech University and the Shanghai branch of the Biophysical Society of China (BSC).

It invited more than 20 renowned scholars, scientists and professors from universities and enterprises from home and aboard to discuss the latest findings in the areas of organic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, chemistry and structural biology, and immunology, which have contributed to the development of new drugs.

Shen Hong, head of pharmaceutical chemistry at the Shanghai Roche R&D Center and Amy Lam, general manager of the RSC in China, both stressed the key role of research and interdisciplinary studies on the innovation of drug discovery in addressing heath issues and challenges during their opening remarks.

They also highlighted the importance of collaboration between all sides.

During the symposium, Dr Richard Kelly, executive editor of the RSC's Journal of Organic and Chemical Biology, introduced the RSC's work in addressing global challenges in health-related areas, including through various academic seminars, exchanges, journals and books.

Dr Liang Yan, the founder of the Beauty of Science program, introduced the application and role of molecular visualization in chemical research, molecular biology education, and marketing during his speech.

Three young Chinese investigators from Roche were awarded the Roche Chinese Young Investigator Award during the symposium in recognition of their outstanding contributions in cancer immunotherapy and in understanding the mechanism of T cell depletion, the development of new synthetic methodology, and new discoveries in fluoride chemistry.

In addition, winners of the Best Poster Award were also announced during the event.

Yin Jie, vice-president of ShanghaiTech University gives opening remarks during the symposium. [Photo/bsc.org. cn]

Raymond Stevens, head of iHuman Institute speaks during the symposium. [Photo/bsc.org. cn]