125th Anniversary public lecture series-2006

Researchers at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences work towards providing insights into diseases in the hope of finding cures.  The public lecture series examined several important issues in our biomedical community; bird flu, malaria, prostate conditions, drug discovery, medication use and safety and the future of our medicines. Thank you to all those people who attended the lectures. We hope you learned how our research makes a difference to the community.

Pacemaker cells in the prostate gland

Tuesday 3 October 2006
Dr Betty Exintaris

There has been a renewed interest in the prostate gland as it is the only accessory organ that commonly enlarges in aging males, a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).  Because of its location, the increase in prostatic size impacts on the urinary system which results in a number of distressing lower urinary tract symptoms.  Current treatment of this condition involves surgery or pharmacotherapy which is associated with numerous disadvantages.  However, surprisingly little attempt has been made to pursue different therapeutic agents for treating BPH. 

This presentation included an overview of the functions of the male reproductive system with an emphasis on the prostate gland.  Common medical conditions that affect the prostate were considered, especially BPH and its impact on the urinary system.  Diagnosis and current treatments of this condition were discussed.  Finally, Dr Exintaris spoke about new developments in prostate research, such as the novel idea that there are pacemaker cells in the prostate gland. 

Medicines - friend or foe?

Tuesday 10 October 2006
Professor Michael Dooley

There are ongoing improvements in the prevention and management of many illnesses. One of the key areas of advancement is that of medications. There are over two thousand different medications that can be prescribed in Australia. In addition, each year approximately 200 new medicines become available. The challenge is to maximise the benefits of these medicines whilst minimising the potential for things to go wrong. A range of problems can occur varying from allergies, side effects and drug interactions through to the wrong medication been prescribed or taken just to name a few. Significant efforts have been taken to reduce these occurring and patients and their carers as well as health professionals play a role. Professor Dooley's lecture highlighted these issues and the strategies in place to make sure that the best possible benefits of medication use can be realised.

Tackling pandemic influenza - new solutions to an age old problem

Tuesday 17 October 2006
Professor Mark von Itzstein

Influenza virus has been a significant human pathogen for time immemorial.  The continual emergence of new strains of this virus, particularly out of Asia, presents an on-going threat to mankind that could have devastating health and socio-economic impact.  This threat has been heightened since the emergence of the influenza virus strain H5N1 in 1997.  While many countries have put in place ‘preparedness plans’ to defend against such threats the need for the development of ‘first-line-of-defence’ anti-influenza drugs remains a high priority.  Since the discovery of the first designer anti-influenza drug Relenza™ and subsequently Tamiflu™ continued effort has been maintained towards the discovery of next generation anti-influenza drugs.  One of the major reasons for this continued effort is the knowledge that influenza virus can develop resistance to therapeutics.

This lecture provided a historical overview and some of the most recent developments, including our own, towards the discovery of anti-influenza drugs that target the influenza virus surface glycoprotein, sialidase.

Public/private partnerships - a new drug discovery model for Malaria and other neglected diseases

Tuesday 24 October 2006
Professor Bill Charman

In spite of a number of major pharmaceutical companies being involved in the discovery and development of drugs for malaria 20 years ago, today, there are few major players left in this important field of endeavour. The current lack of private sector companies involved with the development of drugs for the so called “neglected diseases” has occurred for a variety of economic and related reasons. The recent presence and involvement of public-private partnerships (PPPs) as a vehicle for funding and undertaking drug discovery and development for new anti-malarial drugs has been a particularly welcome and successful initiative. Professor Charman's lecture described aspects of the design and discovery of a design of a synthetic, orally available peroxide antimalarial that is currently undergoing Phase 2 clinical trials (Vennerstrom et al, Nature, 430, 900-905, 2004). The emerging role of public-private partnerships in drug discovery and development was discussed, as were some of the issues confronting this approach for the discovery of new medicines for neglected diseases.

Medicines of the future - what's around the corner?

Tuesday 31 October 2006
Professor Peter Stewart

2006 is a milestone year in the delivery of drugs to the lungs. It is the 50th anniversary of the use of the metered dose inhaler in the treatment of asthma…it is also the first year that inhalation products have been registered to deliver insulin systemically to patients in the treatment of diabetes. It has taken 50 years of inhaler use to go from local delivery and treatment of lung diseases, like asthma, to more general systemic delivery to the body in the treatment of diabetes.

Most of us are used to taking drugs orally as tablets, capsules and mixtures. However, this is not always the best approach for drug delivery to the body and, in recent years, other routes of delivery have been used for some drugs with many advantages. The use of the transdermal patch to delivery drugs through the skin are becoming better known; however, in the future it is likely that we will be using more specific routes of delivery such as the lung, nose, rectum and vagina. While delivery via these routes will never replace oral therapy, it is likely that we will see more of these sorts of products in the future.

Using respiratory delivery as an example, Professor Stewart's presentation examined the lessons that can be learned from the development of respiratory delivery systems during the past 50 years and looked at some of the advances in delivery that might be achieved in the future.