At the International Conference on Growth Factors in Wenzhou, China

In May I received a most unexpected letter. It was an invitation from Prof. Xiao Kun Li, President of Wenzhou Medical University (WMU) to give a talk at the “5th International Conference on Fibroblast Growth Factors” in Wenzhou, China. I had left Bristol Myers-Squibb four years ago and was happily spending my time as a writer, traveler and photographer. This was a blast from the past. But, what would be the subject of my talk, I wondered...

WMU was celebrating its 60th anniversary with a series of programs and activities in Wenzhou and Hangzhou in the province of Zhejiang. This symposium was a highlight of these celebrations. There were several distinguished speakers from Europe, Australia, US, Canada and China but all were from academia. I was the only speaker with experience in the Pharmaceutical Industry which put me in an unenviable but unique position. I decided to parlay my experience to my advantage.

I titled my talk, “My Experience in the Pharmaceutical Industry” where I discussed the Dos and Don’ts in drug discovery, how to make the process more efficient and how to minimize employee turnover and burnout. This brought a new perspective to the discussions and was very well received. To highlight a few of my thoughts; I emphasized the need to swiftly terminate or at least refocus programs that have almost no chance of leading to a drug thereby saving the company time and money. Too often we have seen programs languish too long before the coup de grace. In addition, let the drug discoverers focus on drug discovery. Help them by minimizing time spent in useless meetings. Good science requires contemplation which, in turn, requires time and quietude. Create that much needed environment.

In Hangzhou I participated in the Feasibility Discussion Meeting: Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Laboratory for R&D of Growth Factor Bio-pharmaceuticals & International Research Center for Growth Factor-based Novel Biological Drugs. This is a brand new, world class facility in the making. Local government officials, investors and scientists participated in these discussions and it was exciting and instructive to witness the vision, the resources and the planning that were being marshaled for this endeavor.

Here also my experience with biologics was useful. I pointed out the difference between small molecule drug discovery and biologics like Fibroblast Growth Factors, insulin and GLP-1. For small molecule drugs we have to spend years optimizing compounds to improve their potency, efficacy and safety. But for biologics, we have a natural molecule honed by millions of years of evolution. The end product is exquisite, just think of the seminal role of insulin in the body. Ditto for the FGFs. We take these optimized molecules and tweak certain properties like aggregation, stability and solubility to make them easy to manufacture, store and administer. The end results are excellent medicines that already have a great track record in the clinic. Prof. Xiao Kun Li who has a distinguished career in the FGF field is slated to lead this endeavor. He has already brought four FGF drugs to the clinic in China.  Under his leadership we can expect many more.

Dr. Jin San Zhang from Wenzhou University masterfully organized the conference and attended to every little detail. His calm presence was with us throughout the meetings and even during sightseeing excursions and other post-conference activities. I had a chance to interact a lot with the students from his lab. They are bright, eager to learn and very respectful. Dear Doctor or Professor was how we were addressed. They are also extremely hard working, putting in long hours, 7 days a week. I gave a seminar on the “Basics of Scientific Writing” where I discussed different ways of presenting data and how to write manuscripts in a logical, coherent manner. This talk was well attended. They understood the need to improve their English and really appreciated the fact that I had come half way across the world to help them do just that.

The students are ambitious and want to go abroad to attend elite universities to further their education. They will learn more of other lands and cultures. This young generation gives me hope. They are connected globally via their cellphones. The graduate students of Wenzhou have similar hopes, dreams, and aspirations as any graduate student in New York or New Delhi. As they mature and become captains of industries and governments, one hopes they will value their similarities more than their differences. And therein lies hope for mankind, when we look upon ourselves as members of one species, Homo sapiens, inhabiting this planet together.

I thoroughly enjoyed the warm hospitality of my hosts and the company of many students during my visit. I was privileged to mentor a few during my brief stay. I look forward to continuing my interactions with the students, Profs. Li and Zhang and wish them continued success in their many worthwhile endeavors.

 A travelogue of my entire trip to China will be posted serially on my blog at www.ranjanmukherjee.com