Dear AAPS members–
Science moves rapidly, even in the long days of this pandemic-shadowed summer. When we launched the first week of sessions for our workshop COVID-19 – Current Pharmaceutical Developments for Cures and Prevention just a few weeks ago, the scientific community was still getting its collective head around the complexity of the issues we needed to address. Early on it was clear how critical the availability of reliable tests would be in understanding and reducing the spread of the virus. That has not changed. As the numbers of available tests, and even testing approaches, have multiplied, so have science's questions about assay performance, reliability, comparability of results, and what the readouts ultimately mean for patient diagnosis, care, and prognosis. Changing also, I hope, is our ability to control the disease.
Unsurprisingly, AAPS' very active Bioanalytical Community has taken a keen interest in the questions surrounding COVID-19, and has been instrumental in bringing together the 3rd installment of sessions in the workshop, which will take place this coming Tuesday and Wednesday. We will dive into questions of assay performance and the future of diagnostic approaches to COVID-19. We have two sessions dedicated to independent assay performance evaluations-one will explore the qPCR test; the other will cover serology tests. Both sessions will also present us with a global view that stretches beyond the U.S. to include speakers from the U.K. and South Africa.
We will also re-examine the role that Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) have played in getting these tests into use quickly and what potential challenges that has brought in terms of assay validation. We will hear from two assay providers who have recently gone through this regulatory approval pathway. With years of validation and standardization in my own scientific past, I am looking forward to moderating the final session of the workshop, which focuses on the role that metrology and reference standards can play in improving these crucial tests. The session will also offer a glimpse into the assay future with a presentation on the latest CRISPR-based testing approach. A big thank you again to @Stephanie Pasas-Farmer, @Russell Weiner, and @Shraddha Thakkar for helping to bring this great program together. If you have not registered yet, the workshop is free for members, and you can catch up on all the previous sessions by viewing the recordings.
Additionally, I'm always pleased to see a member reach an important milestone in their research or career! This week I'm excited to direct you to Mansit Das recent publication of his Ph.D. thesis work on developing chemotherapy formulations to improve drug delivery in pancreatic cancer in The AAPS Journal-congratulations, Mansit!
As you get ready for the weekend, please don't forget the survey on AAPS strategic planning and social injustice-it is still open through Monday, June 29, and we really would like to hear from you on this important issue.
Also open is the call for papers for the August Land O'Lakes pharmaceutical analysis conference. @Teresa Homrich and the planning committee for this meeting are looking forward to your poster submissions by June 30, so please don't disappoint them!
I hope you find time to enjoy these long summer days, even as you advance your research.
Tina
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