Extension of 6 months granted to the Site Drug project
Due the spreading of the corona virus, the “Site-Specific Drug Delivery” Interreg 2 Seas project has been granted a 6 months extension. The new end date of the project is: 31st March 2023.
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Covestro and PKMed join the project as Observer Partners
3 New industrial observer partners have joined the consortium as observer partners:
- Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Beerse, Belgium, a main pharmaceutical company
- Covestro, Germany, a major polymer company
- PKMed, a French start-up company specialized in local controlled drug delivery.
APGI Hot Topic Day 3D Printing in Pharmaceutics
A session of the APGI Hot Topic Day on 3D Printing in Pharmaceutics was dedicated to the Site Drug project. The APGI (Association de Pharmacie Galenique Industrielle) (www.apgi.org) is an international association dedicated to activities in the field of Pharmaceutical Technology and Drug Delivery.
3D Printing is a novel manufacturing procedure which has a very promising potential for the production of future drug products. Importantly, it offers the possibility to “customize” innovative medicines: For example, the administered drug dose and drug release rates could be personalized for each patient. It is telling that in our societies we are used to have a broad choice of standard sizes and shapes for our clothes, but generally only a very limited choice of dose strengths of medicines.
This “Hot Topic Day” gave on overview on the current state of the art in this rapidly evolving field and pointed out possible bottlenecks and strategies how to address them. Technical aspects were treated, but also clinical applications and quality control tools. The entire spectrum: from the basic concepts, technical manufacturing features, the portfolio of suitable excipients (especially polymers), quality assurance and treatment of patients were covered.
One of the key speakers of this event was Prof. Abdul Basit from the University College London. He is also a partner of the Site Drug consortium and world-wide leading expert in the field of “colon-targeting” (site-specific drug delivery to the colon). Dr. Atheer Awad, University College London, gave a talk on clinical applications of 3D Printed medicines, and Dr. Mohammad J. Mirzaali, University of Delft, The Netherlands (another project partner) gave a presentation on “3D Printing from an engineering point of view: What is feasible today?” Dr. Alvaro Goyanes, FabRx, Ashford, UK (one of the observer partners of the consortium), gave a talk on “Novel 3D Printing Technologies in Pharmaceutics”. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the event was held online.
“Site Drug booth” at the 12th World Meeting on Pharmaceutics, Biopharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology
The Interreg project Site Drug will be exhibitor at the 12th World Meeting on Pharmaceutics, Biopharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, which will be held on 11-14 May 2021 online.
This is the largest European conference in the field of Pharmaceutical Technology and Drug Delivery. The World Meetings usually attract more than 1300 participants and 1000 submitted abstracts from all over the world, often about one third coming from the industry, one third from academia and one third are “young” scientists (PhD students and post-docs: “the next generation”).
The entire spectrum of topics, ranging from engineering aspects during the manufacturing process, the portfolio of commercially available excipients enabling formulation of a large variety of medicinal products, the underlying physico-chemical principles, cutting-edge characterization techniques as well as potential pitfalls and hurdles to be overcome during product development, manufacturing and characterisation will be addressed.
The conference will be held on 3.5 days. The accompanying exhibition ResearchPharm provides a cross-disciplinary platform for pharmaceutical scientists working in all fields of drug development in industry, academia and regulatory bodies. This exhibition is steadily growing and offers the possibility to present and learn about the newest trends and products in the area of pharmaceutical ingredients, developing and processing equipment, analytical technologies, medicinal products, medical devices and contract manufacturing.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the event will be held online. Please come to our virtual booth and learn more about our Interreg Site Drug project.
For more information on the 12th World Meeting on Pharmaceutics, Biopharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology please have a look at: https://www.worldmeeting.org/home
Abdul Basit and Simon Gaisford ranked amongst world’s most influential researchers
For the second year in a row, Professor Abdul Basit and Professor Simon Gaisford, from the UCL School of Pharmacy, have been listed amongst the World’s Most Highly Cited Researchers by the Clarivate Web of Science™ group. Abdul and Simon are also partners of the Site Drug consortium
Since 2001, the Highly Cited Researchers™ list has identified global research scientists and social scientists who have demonstrated exceptional influence in their field, reflected through publications of multiple papers frequently cited by their peers during the last decade.
In 2020, fewer than 0.1% of the world’s researchers across 21 research fields have earned this exclusive disctinction. Recognised for their exceptional research influence, Professor Abdul Basit and Professor Simon Gaisford of the UCL School of Pharmacy have received the honour of being Highly Cited Researchers for a second year in a row.
Professor Abdul Basit shared “We are delighted to receive this prestigious recognition from the Web of Science group. We aim to continue translational and cutting-edge research to deliver improved therapies for patients.”
Further information:
Web of Science: https://recognition.webofscience.com/awards/highly-cited/2020/
Mine Orlu part of World Economic Forum`s young scientist class of 2020
The World Economic Forum announced on 26 May 2020 its Class of 2020 Young Scientists, representing 25 exceptional researchers at the forefront of scientific discovery.
The Young Scientists were nominated by leading research institutes according to criteria including research excellence, leadership potential and commitment to serving society. These brilliant academics, 40 and under, have been selected on the basis of their achievements in expanding the boundaries of knowledge and practical applications of science in issues as diverse as child psychology, chemical oceanography and artificial intelligence.
Eight of this year’s Young Scientists study in Europe, while seven work in Asia, six are based in the Americas, two in South Africa and a further two in the Middle East.
Mine Orlu, one of the nominated scientist, is also partner of the Site Drug consortium. She is associate professor at the University College London. Mine is designing patient-tailored pharmaceutical and healthcare technologies that contribute to healthy and independent ageing, from birth to old-age.
For more information: https://www.weforum.org/press/2020/05/future-vaccines-wearable-bio-sensors-tissue-engineering-and-aerospace-navigation-meet-the-2020-cohort-of-young-scientists-387d733b8b