On July 8-12, 2024, Drs. Jindřich Kopeček and Jane Yang attended the Controlled Release Society (CRS) 2024 Annual Meeting and Expo in Bologna, Italy. Dr. Kopeček gave an oral presentation, ‘Drug-free Macromolecular Therapeutics: Multi-Antigen T Cell Hybridizers,’ and Jane presented a poster titled ‘Anticipating A New Wave of HPMA Copolymer-Drug Conjugates: Recent Progress and Perspectives in Cancer Therapy.’
This year, the theme of the CRS annual meeting is “Integrating Delivery Science Across Disciplines”. It is also the 40th Anniversary of the Journal of Controlled Release, the official journal of the CRS. In the Opening Ceremony, the CRS President Dr. Twan Lammers highlighted the major contributions in the special issue including Dr. Kopeček’s Magnum Opus*: Hydrophilic Biomaterials: From Crosslinked and Self-Assembled Hydrogels to Polymer-Drug Conjugates and Drug-Free Macromolecular Therapeutics. ‘This is a wonderful Magnum Opus from a great scientist and a pioneer in the field of biomaterials of drug delivery, highlighting his inspiring ideas and remarkable achievements after more than 60 years in science.’ ‘Henry summarized the efforts of his lab over the years and presented his approach to interdisciplinary research and shared some suggestions to early career scientists.’
Dr. Kopeček’s participation and his presentation greatly inspired the young generation. ‘First time attending a talk in person by one of the giants in the field of polymer-drug conjugates and nanomedicine!’ ‘How can he keep coming up with new ideas?!’
After his presentation, Dr. Kopeček took a joyful group photo with the students from Sichuan University, whose mentor is Dr. Kopeček’s former trainee, Dr. Lian Li (Postdoc fellow 2016-2020). Dr. Kopeček encouraged them to join the 19th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Drug Delivery Systems organized by the Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics, University of Utah, in February 2025. He also happily found his former student, Dr. Ayelet David, a Professor at Ben Gurion University, and her trainee, Dr. Yosi Shamay, who is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Technion-IIT. Yosi was very proud of this scientific family photo.
During the conference, Drs. Kopeček and Yang met friends from the academy and industry. They had discussions with those potential collaborators. Dr. Yang also actively explored the possibilities of the translational initiative with Cristal Therapeutics on the second-generation HPMA polymer-drug conjugates and their new platform technology of antibody-polymer-drug conjugates for treating hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. It was a journey not only rewarding but also memorable and enriching.
* The Magnum Opus (Magna Opera) in the JCR is a series of exclusive papers from colleagues who have made exceptional contributions in the drug delivery field. In this series, eminent scientists share their scientific journeys, their lessons learned and the unique stories behind the science.