School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences hosts 2nd Galenus Workshop on Pulmonary Drug Delivery
The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Trinity College Dublin recently hosted the 2nd Galenus Workshop on Pulmonary Drug Delivery at the Panoz Institute from September 18 - 20, 2013.
The workshop was attended by an international group of PhD students undertaking research in Pharmaceutical Sciences and junior faculty members from 18 different Universities as well as representatives of the pharmaceutical industry from a variety of companies.
Both practical and theoretical in scope, the workshop covered many aspects of Pulmonary Formulation and Drug Disposition with lectures and practical sessions delivered by highly experienced faculty members and international speakers.
Participants heard about a series of studies focussing on new targets for the treatment of lung diseases, a particularly important topic as a result of new pipeline drug development and novel clinical entities which may have a narrow therapeutic index or be too toxic for systemic delivery. Improving the efficiency of inhaled aerosol delivery by targeting drug to the appropriate lung regions/sites, may improve the therapeutic response and minimise potential adverse effects.
Other topics covered included imaging techniques in pulmonary drug delivery; in vitro models of the air-blood barrier; pulmonary delivery of biopharmaceuticals; nanoparticles for aerosol delivery, and advances in aerosoliser device technology.
Participants also received practical training in spray drying of respirable particles; in vitro characterisation of aerosol particles, and uptake and transport studies in lung cell cultures.
Speaking about the success of this event, Dr Carsten Ehrhardt, Associate Professor in Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology at The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences said “For Trinity College and our School this was a huge opportunity to engage not only academics and scientists but also to include valuable input from the commercial world, where theoretical ideas can be tested and eventually rolled out, not only to be commercially viable but also to benefit thousands if not millions of patients worldwide. The feedback from the participants and speakers was fantastic and the mix of lectures and practical training was seen as being of real benefit.”
The Workshop on Pulmonary Drug Delivery was sponsored by the Galenus Foundation.
The Galenus Foundation was established in 2004 and it is based in Vienna, Austria. The foundation offers financial support for early stage researchers (e.g., postdocs and assistant professors) working in the area of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics.
Sponsorship for the event was also received from the International Society for Aerosols in Medicine (ISAM). The objectives of ISAM are to stimulate and further the interdisciplinary cooperation and exchange of information in all aspects of aerosol research in medicine including health effects of inhaled aerosols and pulmonary drug delivery.