Think treatments for cancer, diabetes don't grow on trees? Think again

Supported by thousands of years of use, a new wave of polymolecular botanical drugs (PBDs), backed by strong biomedical research and clinical trials, are growing in acceptance as a viable new drug category for the treatment and prevention of a wide spectrum of diseases from cancer to obesity.

Leading researchers in drug development from the National Cancer Institute, Wake Forest University, the University of California, the Scripps Centre for Integrative Medicine, King's College in London UK, and many Canadian Universities will be among the twenty panellists at a Toronto forum on November 15th. Speakers will highlight recent discoveries, discuss current and future research, and chart regulatory landscapes for the promising field of polymolecular drug development. Treatment areas include diabetes, cholesterol management, and cancer.

Research findings will be presented illustrating the advances in the development of polymolecular drugs and their growing recognition as potential mainstream therapies to not only treat illness, but to prevent it. Since polymolecular drugs are composed of multiple components, they often produce biological and/or clinical efficacy through multiple mechanisms of action rather than through a single pathway, as conventional drugs do. An added advantage of this new class of drugs is the synergy between their components, which allows for lower concentrations of each individual ingredient with no reduction in efficacy. As a result they are, as a category, safer and more tolerable than conventional drugs.

Discussion will also focus on recent successes in standardization, which overcome the greatest challenge of botanical medicine and allow for assurances of consistency, safety, and efficacy.

The list of speakers at the forum will include:

• Dr. Erminia Guarneri, founder and medical director of the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine, who will deliver the keynote address, titled Personalized, Predictive, Pro-Active Health: Treating the Whole Person, Body, Mind & Spirit
• Dr. Pierre Haddad, Professor at the University of Montreal presenting on novel anti-obesity and anti-diabetic properties of plants originating from the Boreal forest of Canada.
• Dr. Peter Hyland: Professor, King's College, UK, presenting on novel standardization methods for polymolecular drugs.
• Dr. Auro del Giallo, ABC Foundation School of Medicine, San Paulo Brazil presenting on polymolecular drugs and their role in treating cancer related fatigue
• Dr. Jeffrey White, MD, Director, Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS presenting on the US National Cancer Institute and its botanical research

Academic and clinical researchers, business development professionals and government agencies involved in the drug development field have been invited to attend and learn about this emerging field of health and therapeutics, and to network with other professionals in the field.