Speaking on the occasion NIPER director C.L.Kaul said the symposium will focus on various emerging trends and technological breakthroughs in cardiovascular pharmacological research. Kaul said almost 15 million people die annually in the world because of cardiovascular diseases and more than half of them are from the developing countries. By the year 2020, cardiovascular diseases are expected to join infectious diseases -- the leading cause of death and disability in the developed world.

Clinical consultant and former professor and Head of Department of Pharmacology at AIIMS, Prof S.D. Seth, while delivering the key-note address, said in view of the rapid strides in gene therapy of cardiovascular diseases, pharmacologists must take advantage of the new genetic and molecular technologies to tackle physiological problems and to improve and correct pathophysiological states. He said pharmacologist must establish productive communication and collaboration with fellow virologist, molecular biologist and geneticists to integrate their exciting discoveries into research.

Prof Seth said gene-based therapy is a novel area in drug development in which genetic engineering is used for correction of human disease. The therapy is in its infancy, but holds great promise for curing a number of such diseases which at present could at the best be only controlled. He said this therapy basically involves replacement of defective gene by the insertion of intact functional one.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr N.S. Dhalla from the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Manitoba, Canada, said pharmaceutical education has played a crucial role in the development of drugs in the past 50 years and had contributed towards health care delivery to a large extent.

The multinational companies have not taken the advantage of India's pharmaceutical development as India was a big market of drugs and can earn for India a lot of foreign exchange.

Some seven delegates from abroad and others from India are participating in the symposium. A book exhibition is also being held on the occasion.Dr Dennis B. McNamara from United States said he will speak on how the vascular valve responds to injuries.