News Releases

CAS Convenes Executive Innovation Summits to Inspire Global Economic Growth
Engaging events held in China, Brazil and Japan provide an interactive forum to address mutual business challenges that transcend geographies

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, hosted three Innovation Summit events in China, Japan and Brazil during November. Innovation Summit, a CAS event, is organized to engage global business leaders and influential decision makers to collectively address business challenges that face all organizations, regardless of geography. 

The Innovation Summit held November 15 in Tokyo, Japan was led by CAS country manager, Dr. Chiharu Isobe. This year's agenda focused on strategy development and decision making in R&D, as well as intellectual property protection. CAS was honored to welcome Ms. Yoshiko Shirokizawa, deputy director of Japan Science & Technology (JST), who addressed the participants on funding to ensure world-class innovation. Dr. Matthew J. Toussant, sr. vice president of product and content operations for CAS, also provided a global view of innovation. Attendees enjoyed open dialogue on the latest research trends in Japan, including growth in research across large chemical companies in Japan, increasing generic pharmaceutical production and the recent growth in patenting of therapeutic applications.

A panel agenda for the Innovation Summit in Shanghai, China held November 16 highlighted research and development in the information era, as well as ways to remain competitive in IP in the ever-evolving chemistry, pharmaceutical and related-science marketplace. Lively dialogue and networking were an integral part of the value derived by attendees. Esteemed colleagues from academic and commercial organizations shared insights on R&D strategies, innovation in drug research and development, information design and CRO innovation in China that are driving growth for the world's patent leader. Following the summit, a librarian roundtable was held in Guangzhou to address specific challenges facing academic institutions as they develop the next generation of research leaders.

The final Innovation Summit for 2016, held in Sao Paulo, Brazil on November 22, welcomed highly respected guests from FAPESP; the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation; and EMBRAPII, among others. Members of the Brazil Advisory Board to CAS helped facilitate lively discussions around topics ranging from innovation in the private sector to bioeconomics to funding innovation that fuels the economy, as well as promoting a culture of collaboration to drive innovation across research in Brazil. Participants analyzed case studies demonstrating successful innovation in Brazil, and CAS chief innovation officer, Kathy Gibson, provided a case study on creating a sustainable innovation capability highlighting the implementation of this function at CAS.

CAS leadership, including President Manuel Guzman, shared insights on the transformation of CAS to an innovative solutions provider that has transitioned from offering three primary research and intellectual property solutions to one that is continuously introducing exciting new solutions that advance scientific research faster than ever. 

"CAS is on an evolutionary path to enhance the sophistication of its solutions, and we must push ourselves to extend support beyond traditional chemistry to other scientific domains in order to better serve scientific discovery long term," said Guzman. "The innovation infusion across CAS is infectious, and we're humbled to share our experiences in these Innovation Summit forums and to also learn from other global leaders who are making differences in people's lives every day.  We're working together to make our world a better place."

About CAS

CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, is dedicated to the ACS vision of improving people's lives through the transforming power of chemistry. The CAS team of highly trained scientists finds, collects, and organizes all publicly disclosed substance information, creating the world's most valuable collection of content that is vital to innovation worldwide. Scientific researchers, patent professionals and business leaders around the world rely on a suite of research solutions from CAS that enables discovery and facilitates workflows to fuel tomorrow's innovation. 

SOURCE CAS

For further information: Rhonda Ross, 614-447-3624, cas-pr@cas.org