On the afternoon of October 08, 2024, Prof. CHANG Junbiao of Zhengzhou University, an Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Prof. YANG Zhenjun of Peking University at the invitation of Prof. ZHANG Yonghui, Vice President of HUST, gave a report on “Clinical Demand Oriented Research on Antiviral Drugs” and “Tissue Targeted Delivery and Target Regulated Disease Therapeutic Research of Novel Oligonucleotide Modified Agents” at the Academic Lecture Theatre of Tongji Medical College. The seminar was chaired by Prof. WAN Qian and attended by more than 200 students and teachers, including Prof HUANG Kun, Director of the Office of Medical Discipline and Development Planning, Prof. ZHANG Zhiping, Vice Dean of the School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), and Prof. ZENG Jing.

Prof. CHANG’s lecture focused on the research of antiviral drugs. He began with an overview of the current status of global R&D of small molecule antiviral drugs and mentioned the pressure posed on the development of China's antiviral originator drugs in the current context. In his lecture, Prof. CHANG talked about the advantages and the shortcomings of antiviral nucleoside drugs, and elaborated on the challenges facing the development of nucleoside drugs, such as easy catabolism and metabolism, easy development of drug resistance, and low drug concentration  in the lesion. He talked about effort of his team in addressing these issues and the results they achieved. He elaborated on the history and clinical application of Azulfidine, an anti-neoguanovirus and anti-HIV drug. At the same time, he gave a brief account to the nucleoside drug database and the R&D center built on the basis of the National Key Laboratory of Innovative Drugs for Antiviral Infectious Diseases, and called on pharmacists to make a concerted endeavor in the development of China's antiviral drugs, and contribute to breakthroughs in the field when confronting external constraints.

Prof. YANG focused his lecture on the research of novel oligonucleotide modifier formulations for tissue-targeted delivery and target-regulated therapy. Prof. YANG talked about their research effort in figuring out the heteronucleoside modification strategy based on the local conformational adjustment of nucleic acids, as well as their notions in the design and development of the in vivo targeted nano-formulations of innovative nucleic acid drugs. Prof. YANG's lecture offered very provoking ideas about the research on tissue-targeted delivery and target modulation of nucleotide modifier formulations.

The lectures of the two eminent professors were well received and highly interactive. It will help promote the further academic exchange in the communities of pharmacy.