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It is a great pleasure to invite you to the ESDP Congress in Rotterdam 4-7 June, 2008, on behalf of the Council of the European Society for Developmental, Perinatal and Paediatric Pharmacology (ESDP). This will be the 11th meeting of the Society, and the first one held in the Netherlands. The fields of Clinical Pharmacology, Developmental Pharmacology and Paediatrics have a long tradition in the Netherlands both at Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia Children’s Hospital and at other Dutch universities. Erasmus Medical Center is the largest university medical center and Sophia Children’s Hospital the largest and oldest children’s hospital in the Netherlands, instituted on the initiative of wealthy business men under patronage of Queen Sophia. With a referral area of over 4 million inhabitants it is currently one of the leading children’s hospitals in Europe. The importance of medicines in children has finally resulted in the European Regulation to improve the orphan status of our most valuable citizens. The Rotterdam 2008 Congress will be the first meeting after the initiation of this new law that will dramatically improve the situation for Europe’s children. It will be a unique gathering of parents’ organizations, regulatory bodies, pharmaceutical industries, students, fellows, nurses, pharmacists, pharmacologists and physicians. |
Our Society encompasses the interests of several cross-sectional disciplines in human medical sciences. We felt mandated therefore to put together a broad program that we hope will meet the interest of the variety of participants at ESDP 2008. Thus, the symposia and plenary sessions will cover various topics in paediatrics including neonatology, clinical pharmacology, obstetrics, pharmaco-epidemiology, regulatory affairs, HIV/AIDS and pain-related issues. We want to extend our sincere thanks to the members of the scientific and organizing committees who all contributed to make this Congress possible. Please, join us at the ESDP Congress! Feel welcome to present your own research results and share information with colleagues from Europe and all over the world. Enjoy the scientific, social and friendly atmosphere that marks the ESDP since its inception in 1988. We warmly welcome all of you to Rotterdam 2008 and wish you fruitful and valuable scientific exchanges and a rewarding time in Rotterdam and the Netherlands. JOHN VAN DEN ANKER, PRESIDENT OF ESDP MATTHIJS DE HOOG AND DICK TIBBOEL, CHAIRS OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE |