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Workshop 17: Mind the gap between the target and the clinical response: Integrative approaches in early clinical development of novel and repurposed medicines

Tracks
Track 3
Monday, July 13, 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Details

Session Chairs: Dr Phumla Sinxadi, Cape Town University, South Africa Dr Joao Ximenes, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil


Speaker

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Prof Jennifer Martin
University Newcastle

Challenges and solutions for research teams in drug repurposing

Abstract

Biography

Professor Jennifer Martin is a physician and clinical pharmacologist with a 30 year research track record in optimising drug choice and dose for specific population groups. Much of her research is focused on using phenotype markers to refine and individualise drug dosage to reduce adverse events and maximise efficacy. She was the inaugural member and then Chair of the IATDMCT Oncology group, previous sub-Editor for the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Internal Medicine Journal (clinical pharmacology), current editor of Pharmacology Research and Perspectives, and President of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
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Dr Umberto Villani
University College London

From in-vitro/in vivo to in silico to humans: data integration and extrapolation in translational pharmacology

Abstract

Biography

Dr. Umberto Villani earned his MSc in Bioengineering from the University of Padova, Italy, in 2018. He then worked on the biophysical modelling of magnetic resonance imaging techniques, obtaining a PhD in biomedical imaging applied to Neuroscience in 2022. Until 2024, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Translational Pharmacology at the National Research Council in Rome, where he contributed to the development of quantitative methods to evaluate the efficacy of novel drugs and drug combinations against tuberculosis. He is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in Clinical Pharmacology at UCL’s School of Pharmacy, within the Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Group, where his work centres on applying Modelling & Simulation techniques to accelerate the approval of new medicines for paediatric rare diseases.
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Prof Oscar Della Pasqua
Chair Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics
University College London

First-time-in-human studies: Can we do better?

Abstract

Biography

Prof Della Pasqua has more than twenty-year experience in clinical drug development. He acts as Chair Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics at the University College London, UK. His research focuses primarily on dose optimisation and identification of markers of treatment response, an activity which is undertaken in close collaboration with the Division of Medicine and the Translational Research Office. In addition, Prof Della Pasqua is an Executive Director at GSK R&D, where he provides clinical pharmacology expertise across therapeutic areas in life-cycle management. Since 2020, he holds a position as Associate Fellow at the National Research Council, where he coordinates the integration of in silico models describing antibacterial activity of antibiotic drugs with the underlying immune response. Recently, he was appointed as a Senior Editor of the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Director of EPTRI, the European Paediatric Translational Research Infrastructure Network. His academic records in clinical drug development are highlighted by his contribution to more than 200 publications in international journals.
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Prof Geert Jan Groeneveld
Centre For Human Drug Research

Early clinical development in CNS disorders: unlocking value through Proof-of-Pharmacology

Abstract

Biography

Geert Jan Groeneveld (1971) is the Chief Executive Officer of CHDR. In addition to serving on CHDR’s board, he is a professor of Clinical Neuropharmacology at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), and also works as a neurologist in the pain outpatient clinic of the Department of Anaesthesiology at the LUMC, where he sees patients with neurological causes of chronic pain. Groeneveld trained as a neurologist at the University Medical Center Utrecht, where he also obtained his PhD on the subject of new pharmacotherapeutic treatment strategies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. From 2007 to 2009 he worked at the biotechnology company Genzyme. From 2009 to 2017, he served as Research Director at CHDR and was responsible for research in the areas of neurology and pain. While working as a Research Director at CHDR, Groeneveld also held a position as staff member in the Department of Neurology at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam. Groeneveld’s primary scientific interest lies in early-phase drug development for the treatment of neurological diseases and pain. He has published over 150 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals and is actively involved in the training of PhD students at CHDR. In addition, he is a board-certified clinical pharmacologist and serves on the editorial boards of the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical and Translational Science and Frontiers in Pain Research.
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Prof Robyn Langham
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Australian Government

MIDD implications for the evaluation and approval of novel and repurposed drugs

Abstract

Biography

Professor Langham is the Chief Medical Adviser of the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia. She is a nephrologist and clinician researcher, focusing on drug development of novel anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic agents. Professor Langham is also a director of the Australian Medical Council and chairs the Human Research and Ethics Committee at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.

Session chair

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Phumla Sinxadi
Chair And Head Of Division
University of Cape Town

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Joao Paulo Ximenez
Assistant Professor
University Of Sao Paulo

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