This week, 8,000 of the world’s most prominent pharmaceutical scientists are presenting scientific papers and discussing issues shaping the industry’s future, including the faculty shortage at schools of pharmacy, innovations in drug delivery, and industry developments in sustainability at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta.
Among the 2008 AAPS “top pick” research studies being presented are:
Faculty Shortages at Schools of Pharmacy
Throughout the United States, schools of pharmacy have been struggling with a faculty shortage issue nearing crisis level. This shortage is expected to accelerate and threaten the pipeline of students enrolled in programs to become pharmaceutical scientists and researchers, resulting in a dismal outlook for the future of R&D.
"Right now we don’t have enough faculty to train the next generation of pharmaceutical scientists," explains Karen Habucky, Ph.D., 2008 president of AAPS. "Our country’s reputation as a scientific leader is at risk if we don’t create solutions for this shortage now."
By the year 2015, experts predict that nearly 40 percent of faculty positions at U.S. schools of pharmacy will be unfilled. As the vacancies increase, future pharmacists and scientists needed for clinical trials and pharmaceutical research to develop new drugs may not be able to receive the necessary training, which will in turn impact the future of healthcare in America.
Vacant positions at schools of pharmacy projection: 10 percent for 2007, 20 percent for 2010, and 40 percent for 2015.
Next Generation Camera Pill: The iPill
In 2001, the first camera pill was approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). Now seven years later, for the first time ever researchers from Philips will present the iPill technology for the next generation of the camera pill. The iPill is a capsule, the same size of the camera pill and has been designed to be swallowed and to pass through the digestive track naturally. It can be programmed to electronically control the delivery of medicine according to a release profile.
"We are convinced that the iPill technology will open up possibilities to target almost any kind of drug to a specific location of the intestinal tract," said Jeff Shimizu, AAPS expert and principal member of the research staff at Philips. "It's fully programmable, just like a computer, so you could individualize the delivery profile for each patient."
Making the Pharmaceutical Industry More Sustainable
The pharmaceutical industry is beginning to make progress in addressing sustainability issues. Several leaders in environmental drug manufacturing will help raise awareness at AAPS’ Annual Meeting about what academia and the industry can do to put an end to eco-toxic drugs and help ensure a more sustainable future. This will include discussions about revising standard teaching curricula to reflect the new understanding of ways to produce more sustainable products and reduce waste.
"For just one gram of pharmaceutical product, hundreds to thousands of grams of waste are sometimes generated," said John Warner, one of the pioneers of green chemistry and co-author of the book "Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice." "If the average pharmaceutical company reduced their waste using the principles of green chemistry, they could save significantly on their manufacturing costs. This could result in huge savings by the industry, and the potential for those savings to be redirected towards drug development."
Release Date: November 18, 2008
Source: American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS)
