INTERREG Consortium
EU INTERREG Consortium: IMPROVING DRUG EFFICACY AND AVAILABILITY (IDEA)
SEPS Pharma is involved in an innovation consortium called the INTERREG IVA "2 Mers Seas Zeeën" cross-border cooperation project. The name of the project is IDEA (Improving Drug Efficacy and Availability) and it originates from the presence in the 2-seas EU region of some of the world-leading researchers in the challenging field of solid state and pharmaceutical development science. These scientists work in various fields (physics, chemistry, pharmacy) at the Universities of Cambridge, East Anglia, Ghent and Lille as well as at SEPS Pharm, a Flemish SME. They group together their complementary scientific know-how and equipment to implement a new activity which meets the urgent demands of advanced drug delivery systems and approaches. This innovation-driven research program will have important outcomes for public health as well as for educational training. It provides a unique opportunity to position the region as an international leader in the solid state pharmaceutical field.
80% of the drugs are formulated as solid dosage forms. The API may exist in a number of different forms (crystal polymorphs, amorphous forms, nanocrystals) which behave differently in the human body and with a strong impact on therapeutic efficacy, safety and product stability. Controlling and predicting the solid state properties during manufacture and on storage are major issues in the development of new API’s. This is particularly pertinent for drugs with poor water solubility (70% of NCE’s). To overcome the present empirical approach, there is a clear need for research and training reorientation to incorporate understanding of the solid state chemistry of drugs and dosage forms.
The aim is to develop within the EU region an original research program on the design of new solid state pharmaceuticals, in order to facilitate the development of both new and existing drugs in forms with improved bioavailability, efficacy, chemical and physical stability, safety and predictability. The new forms will mainly be based on nanoparticle technologies, amorphous drug forms and molecular complexations. The participation of a pharmaceutical company (SEPS Pharma) in the project will provide fast and efficient validation of the most innovative developments.
The consortium will create in the region a training center dedicated to the optimization of the solid-state drug manufacturing processes. This training will be provided jointly by the members of the partnership. This will meet the need of pharmaceutical companies in order to overcome the major bottlenecks of the drug development. This multi-disciplinary training is currently lacking. It will target students and personnel from local industries undertaking continuing professional development.
A multi-disciplinary (physics, chemistry and pharmacy) state-of-the-art technological platform will be implemented, dedicated to: i) material synthesis, ii) advanced characterisation, iii) formulation of pharmaceutical materials. This will help establishing this EU region as an attractive choice for companies developing new drug products. It will also support the training program of the project.
More information: IDEA
Partners of the IDEA project: