NEWSLETTER #3

FINAL EVENT of the Interreg 2 Seas project “Site-Specific Drug delivery”

on 30th March 2023 at 2:00-4:00pm (Brussels time)
live online (zoom) meeting

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required.

PROGRAMME

Welcome

Parenteral, biodegradable drug delivery systems: Importance of the in vitro release set-up
Prof. Juergen Siepmann, University of Lille, France

Advanced drug delivery systems for colon targeting
Prof. Abdul Basit, University College London, UK

Innovative implants for inner ear treatments
Dr. Julian Apachitei, University of Delft, The Netherlands

Drug loaded breast implants
Dr. Julien Payen, Lattice Medical, Loos, France

Cutting edge in vitro characterization techniques for local drug delivery systems
Prof. Axel Zeitler, University of Cambridge, UK

Towardsmore realistic drug release measurements
Tbd, ProDigest, Belgium

Closing

The large majority of drug products available on the market deliver the drug in a non-targeted manner into the human body: The drug is circulated via the blood throughout the entire organism. Only parts of it reach the target site (e.g., a specific organ), while the large majority of the administered drug dose is distributed within the rest of the body. Importantly, this drug is not only “lost” for the treatment, it is often harmful for the patient, causing potentially severe side effects. The latter have 3 major consequences, they:

1) Constitute a major health burden for the patient (e.g. causing nausea, headache, cardiovascular complications).

2) Can limit the drug dose that can be given to the patient, leading to nonoptimal therapeutic effects (the drug amount reaching the target site cannot be further increased).

3) Cause considerable costs for the health care systems (e.g., due to the treatment of side effects, prolonged.

The aim of the “Site Drug” project is to develop innovative drug products, which are able to control the resulting drug distribution in the patient’s body: The drug amount at the site of action is optimized, and the amount that is “lost” into the rest of the human body is minimized. This is achieved by “site-specific delivery systems”, which release the drug at a controlled rate at the site of action. Thus, the therapeutic efficacy are improved & undesired side effects reduced. This will help reducing the current cost burden on our healthcare systems due to adverse drug effects.

Four types of disease and disorders are specifically addressed:

• Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis using colon targeting systems
• Ovarian cancer with metastases in the peritoneal cavity with biodegradable controlled drug delivery systems
• Breast resection due to cancer using biodegradable breast implants releasing drugs in a controlled manner
• Hearing loss/deafness using miniaturized implants.

A highly interdisciplinary and complementary consortium of 10 academic and industrial partners in France, Belgium, The Netherlands and the UK is jointly working on this project: Delft University of Technology; Ghent University; Lattice Medical; Leiden University; Lille University Hospital; Prodigest; Technological Transfer Office North of France; University College London; University of Cambridge; University of Lille.

To register (free of charge) please send an email to alexandra.machado@univ-lille.fr, indicating your first and family name, position and institution.

Click below to download a pdf version of the flyer:

“Site Drug” has a booth at the upcoming
4th European Conference on Pharmaceutics
in Marseille, France – 20 & 21 March 2023

The Interreg project Site Drug will be exhibitor at the 4th European Conference on Pharmaceutics, which will be held on 20 & 21 March 2023 in Marseille, France.

The conference will be dedicated to “Advanced technologies enabling new therapies“.
The European Conferences on Pharmaceutics are held every two years and are jointly organized by the A.D.R.I.T.E.L.F. (“Italian Association of Pharmaceutical Technology and Law”), APGI (“International Society of Drug Delivery Sciences and Technology“) and APV (“International Association for Pharmaceutical Technology“).
The aim is to help bridging the gap between fundamental academic research and industrial applications, offering the opportunity to initiate fruitful exchange and cooperation between university and industry. The conference will be a perfect occasion for young as well as for established scientists from academia and industry from all over the world to present their work, network, discuss newest scientific findings and to share their experience with colleagues.

HOT TOPIC SESSION

• Oral drug delivery
• Advanced therapies
• In-silicio simulations
• Personalised medicines

World-wide leading experts in the field will give plenary lectures and invited talks on hot topics. They will give overviews on the current state of the art in the respective domains and outlooks on future perspectives. In addition, latest research findings will be presented in the form of short talks, selected from submitted abstracts. Furthermore, poster presentations will give the opportunity to get an update on the most recent research in pharmaceutics and to personally exchange with the authors.
An industrial exhibition will accompany the conference and allow learning about the latest trends and newest products in the area of pharmaceutical ingredients, developing & processing equipment, analytical technologies, medicinal products, medical devices, contract manufacturing and many other fields.

For more information on the 4th European Conference on Pharmaceutics please have a look at: https://www.europeanmeeting.org/home