28th French-Japanese Symposium on Medicinal & Fine Chemistry

1 – 4 October 2023 – Nice, France

Introduction

In the early 1980s, Yoshio Ban, Yuichi Kanaoka, Pierre Potier (Golden medal of CNRS, member of the Académie des Sciences) and Jean Mathieu (Roussel-Uclaf) have suggested to organize French-Japanese meetings around fine and medicinal chemistry. The first meeting took place in 1981 in Biwako (Japan), and since that date, French-Japanese Symposia (FJS) are organized alternatively in Japan and France every 18 months. Thus, the 28^thFJS 2023 organized in Nice follows previous symposia in Fukuoka (2019) and Strasbourg (2017).

National and International Context

The FJS gathers for three days a hundred academic participants and industrials, and is organized around twenty lectures given in parity by colleagues from each country, as well as poster presentations. It is necessary to underline that the FJS is one of the two bilateral conferences (with the French-American Conference, FACS) on organic chemistry that still exists after over thirty years, due to its scientific and cultural relevance. In this long period, the best researchers of both countries in the main topics were invited to present their research. These exchanges have greatly contributed to structure the Franco-Japanese relationship in chemistry and led to the development of privileged exchanges, including the University of Nice which has had, for numerous years, a strong networking interaction via the JSPS or bilateral agreements with Japanese universities or research centers (for example, invitations of professors of the University of Nice, Tokyo university…, exchanges of students and researchers, ongoing bilateral projects). Furthermore, the participation of industrial representatives in fine chemistry, pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals is one of the key points of the symposium, allowing to strengthen the public-private interaction and to establish close contact with the aim of collaborations.

Objectives

It is intended to present recent results and new ideas in the field of synthetic and medicinal chemistry, both at the academic and industrial levels. The FJS also allows confronting the scientific and cultural approaches of both countries in addressing the complex and multiple issues and problems of modern chemistry in interaction with other research areas. Japan and France are two leading countries in the field of organic chemistry, which provides high-level scientific exchanges. Thus, the FJS is a place of exchange between academic and industrial actors of fine and pharmaceutical chemistry particularly with the aim to create bilateral research projects.

Participation of students is also one of the key points of the FJS symposium. Thus, PhD students are encouraged to present their work in the form of posters, which allows them at the same time to participate actively in the scientific animation of the conference and to establish contacts for a research internship in partner countries to complete their training.

Main topics of the FJS

• Development of new synthetic methods in organic synthesis
• Research of new active ingredients for pharmaceutical industries and agrochemistry
• Development of synthetic methods for sustainable development (green chemistry)
• Catalysis processes for the synthesis of organic intermediates
• Asymmetric synthesis of chiral molecules
• Fundamental and applied supramolecular chemistry
• Synthesis of organic materials for information storage and optics
• Process development for energy storage and production
• Synthesis of monomers for the development of new polymers

Socio-economic relevance

The topics covered in this symposium are:
• Pharmaceutical industry
• Agrochemical industry
• Fine chemistry
• Medicinal chemistry and chemo-biology
• Chemistry for aroma and fragrance
• Materials industry for various applications
• New energies

Several industrials are strongly established in the Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur region, which are particularly specialized in fine chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, aroma and fragrance chemistry… The Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur Region represents a very fertile basin for industrial and academic research in chemistry with strong interactions with the University of Nice Côte d’Azur, Aix Marseille University, University of Toulon, University of Corsica and a strong interaction with the Italian Universities.

This symposium is therefore part of a public-private interaction approach, strongly encouraged by local and regional authorities (Nice and PACA), cross-functional structures such as competitiveness clusters, Canceropôle PACA, Infectiopôle…

In addition, the traditionally strong presence of Japanese industrials at this symposium offers a unique opportunity to create new links with industry in the region for international development.

Target audience

Approximately 120 to 150 researchers, teachers-researchers, PhD students and postdoctoral associates from academic laboratories (CNRS, University) and French and Japanese chemical companies.
• The usual proportion of French and Japanese participants is about 2/3-1/3 for symposia organized in France.
• Ten plenary lectures of 50 minutes and ten short keynote lectures of 30 minutes at parity between French and Japanese speakers. The lectures by industrials represent a proportion of 1/3.
• Possibility given to each participant to present a poster during specific poster sessions.
• Preferential rate of registration for PhD students who are encouraged to present their work as a poster. A prize for the best poster will be awarded according to the budget.
• Presence of exhibitors of chemical products, scientific journals and equipment.