The computer aided drug design is an important part of the rational drug design approach today and structural biology plays a crucial role in this central activity of drug design, Prof. T.P. Singh, Head of Biophysics Department at AIIMS has said. Delivering the keynote address at the inaugural function of the three day workshop on "Pharmacoinformatics in Drug Design" at National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) on April, 14, Prof Singh acknowledged India's vast and talented human resource and felt that the workshop will go long way in help developing these human resources.

The workshop is being conducted under the continuing education programme of NIPER, wherein the first workshop in Computer Aided Drug Design (CADD) was held in June 1998, second in July 2002 and the third one in November 2004. The efforts in these workshops have paved the way for designing pharmacoinformatics as a new course in the field of drug design, discovery and development. NIPER offers two years full time masters' programme in Pharmacoinformatics.

This workshop has been designed so that the participants get maximum exposure to "hands on training" on the advanced tools and software available at NIPER. Several theory lectures and problem solving sessions have been incorporated so that the participants gain enough knowledge and practical experience in computer aided drug design. Speakers with vast experience as well as speakers with young ideas have been invited to be the resource persons. This admixture of active people shall certainly ignite the interest of participants and provide a platform for interaction, Prof. Rama Rao added. The workshop was attended by over 52 participants from all parts of the country.