Over 180 doctors, pharmacists and nurses attended the "2011 Joint Conference of Drug Safety Research Centres" on 15 November 2011 at the Postgraduate Education Centre of the Prince of Wales Hospital.  The Conference was jointly organised by the Drug Safety Research Centres of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Créteil Paris XII, the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority.  At the Opening Ceremony, Prof. Thomas Y.K. Chan (left 1, front row), Director of Centre for Food and Drug Safety, Faculty of Medicine, and Dr. P.Y. Lam, JP (left 4, front row), the Director of Health, delivered the welcome remarks and opening address.  Prof. Hervé Le Louet (left 5, front row), Head of Department of Pharmacovigilance, the University of Créteil Paris XII, France, was the keynote speaker.  Other invited guests included Dr. Heston Kwong (left 3, front row), Assistant Director (Drug), Department of Health, and Dr. Joseph Lui (left 6, front row), Chairman of Medication Safety Committee, Hospital Authority.  Leading experts from Hong Kong and Europe discussed the strategies to ensure medicine safety and quality.  The focus of the Conference included allergic drug reactions, applications of pharmacogenetics in clinical practice and the systems to ensure medicine safety and quality in the hospital and out-patient clinic settings.