CORPORATE ORGANIZATION

GPEN, Inc. was established on November 10, 1998 in the State of Kansas as a Not-for-Profit organization. GPEN will be run by a three member Board of Directors in accordance with its BY-LAWS.

MISSION STATEMENT

GPEN, Inc. was established for the sole purpose of fostering and facilitating scientific exchange in the following areas of the pharmaceutical sciences:

- physical pharmacy
- bioanalysis
- animal and human biopharmaceutics, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenomics
- cellular and molecular biopharmaceutics
- drug delivery
- drug targeting
- pharmaceutical biotechnology
- pharmaceutical engineering
- materials science
- computational and modeling approaches to drug formulation and delivery

ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIVITIES

To assist host institutions in the organization of GPEN meetings, which will be held every two years. Activities will include scientific presentations by predoctoral and postdoctoral students and faculty from “full member”, “associate member” and “invited” institutions. Short courses on timely topics will be presented by the faculty for the predoctoral and postdoctoral students. Selected industrial representatives will be invited as observers.

OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES

Membership Status

1) Full Members. Institutions that have participated in two of the last three GPEN meetings by sending at least one faculty member and two predoctoral and/or postdoctoral students will be “full members” of GPEN.
2) Associate Members. Institutions that have participated in one of the last three GPEN meetings with at least one faculty member and one predoctoral and/or postdoctoral students will be “associate members” in GPEN.
3) Invited Participants. The GPEN Executive Committee (EC) will recommend to the Board of Directors of GPEN, Inc. up to five new institutions to be invited to each GPEN meeting.
4) Exceptions. The GPEN-EC may choose on occasion to make exceptions to the membership rules outlined above.

Privileges of Membership in GPEN

1) Full Members

a) GPEN, Inc. will provide free registration and housing for at least one faculty member and two predoctoral or postdoctoral students from “full member” institutions to participate in each GPEN meeting.
b) “Full member” institutions will have voting rights for selection of the meeting sites and election of representatives to serve on the GPEN-EC and the representative to serve on the Board of Directors of GPEN, Inc. Each “full member” institution will designate a representative who will be authorized to vote on behalf of his/her colleagues on the issues outlined above.
c) “Full member” institutions will be eligible to host a GPEN meeting.
d) “Full member” institutions will be eligible to have a faculty member elected to the GPEN-EC and/or the Board of Directors of GPEN, Inc.
e) “Full member” institutions will be eligible to apply for funding (when such funding is available) from GPEN, Inc. to support the travel of students to the biannual GPEN meetings.

2) Associate Members

a) GPEN, Inc. will provide free registration and housing for at least one faculty member and one predoctoral or postdoctoral student from each “associate member” institution to participate in each GPEN meeting.
b) “Associate member” institutions will not be eligible to host a GPEN meeting, to have a faculty member elected to the GPEN-EC or the Board of Directors of GPEN, Inc., to vote on the location of GPEN meetings, or to apply for funds from GPEN, Inc. to support the travel of students to the biannual GPEN meetings.

GPEN-EC

1) Responsibilities

a) To recommend institutions for “full” or “associate” membership in GPEN to the Board of Directors of GPEN, Inc.
b) To recommend the sites for GPEN meetings to the Board of Directors of GPEN, Inc.
c) To develop and recommend programs to facilitate the exchange of faculty and/or students between GPEN institutions to the Board of Directors of GPEN, Inc.
d) To recommend to the Board of Directors of GPEN, Inc. how funds available to GPEN, Inc. should be allocated to support GPEN meetings and to support programs to facilitate the exchange of faculty and/or students between GPEN institutions.
e) To actively solicit funds for GPEN, Inc. to support its activities.

2) Membership

a) The GPEN-EC will consist of five faculty members elected from the “full member” institutions.
b) “Full member” institutions cannot have more than one faculty representative on the GPEN-EC at any given time.
c) Members of the GPEN-EC will elect a Chairperson who will serve a four year term. Chairpersons will be eligible to serve up to two four year terms.
d) Members of GPEN-EC will be elected by the representatives of the “full member” institutions (each institution will have one vote) and they will serve six year terms. One or two new members will be elected to the GPEN-EC every two years starting in the year 2002.
e) The GPEN Board of Directors will appoint an Industrial Observer as an Ad Hoc Member (non-voting) of the GPEN-EC who will serve a six year term.

Industry Involvement in GPEN Meetings

1) A limited number of representatives from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies will be invited by the Board of Directors of GPEN, Inc. to participate in GPEN meetings (including short courses) as observers.
2) In exchange for the opportunity to send a representative to a GPEN meeting, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies will be required to provide a donation to GPEN, Inc. to support the “activities” of the organization.
3) Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies will also be solicited periodically to provide funding (as sponsors) to support the activities of GPEN, Inc.

Modifications of the Operational Guidelines

Modifications of these Operational Guidelines will be recommended by the GPEN-EC to representatives of the “full member” institutions and passage of changes in the organization’s Operational Guidelines will require a 2/3 vote of the “full member” institutions.