The Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation

Monday 8th October, 2007 IPI work recently highlighted on the cover of the Journal of Physical Chemistry B

Dr. Andrey Gurtovenko & Professor Jamshed Anwar’s article – Modulating the Structure and Properties of Cell Membranes: The Molecular Mechanism of Action of Dimethyl Sulfoxide (2007) has been highlighted on the cover of J. Physical Chemistry B 111, 10453-10460.

The state-of-the-art atomic-scale computer modelling reveals the molecular mechanism of action of small amphiphilic solutes such as dimethylsulfoxide
(DMSO) on cell membranes. It turns out that simply by changing the concentration of the solute it is possible to induce various structural changes in a membrane, from thinning, induction of transient water pores, to complete disintegration of the membrane. Overall, these findings shed light on the microscopic processes behind the effectiveness of some small solutes in general (and DMSO in particular) in serving as membrane penetration enhancers, cell fusogens, and cryoprotectants.

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Thursday 4th October, 2007 IPI joins Consortium for Globalisation of Chinese Medicine (CGCM)

Prof. Peter York and Dr. Qun Shao attended the Sixth Annual Meeting of CGCM in Beijing in August 2007. Prof. York delivered a presentation titled Supporting globalisation of Traditional Chinese Medicines and he was also nominated as a workshop panel member.

At the meeting, the IPI was elected as a full academic member of CGCM (along with eight other UK Universities, including Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College, Nottingham, and Brunel).

A number of Chinese research institutes (e.g. Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Zhejiang University, Jilin University) have benefited from the working with the IPI in accessing the IPI’s strong computational capability, expertise in knowledge engineering (KE) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

The IPI is also heavily involved in supporting the research programme in a UK based TCM research institute jointly funded by Chinese public and private sectors. Joining the CGCM will provide an excellent platform for the IPI to pursue a much broader collaborative opportunity with major players in TCM research field.

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Thursday 4th October, 2007 IPI - academic partner of UK-China Healthcare Working Group

IPI Director Paul Thorning, along with his colleague Dr. Qun Shao, attended the first meeting of UK-China healthcare working group in Beijing earlier this year in August 2007.

Through the recognition of IPI’s China business development programme by the British Embassy in Beijing, the IPI was nominated as an academic member of the UK team (alongside AstraZeneca, GSK, Smith’s Medical, Eschmann, ABHI, and the Department of Health) to participate in talks with senior government officials, companies and institutes from China.

Led by senior government officials from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Medicines & Health Products (CCCMHPIE), the UK-China Healthcare Working Group aims:
•to enhance co-operation and communication between UK and Chinese healthcare enterprises and industries
•to promote further bilateral trade and investment
•and to improve healthcare standards and living quality in both countries

Many issues were discussed in this inaugural meeting, including:
•Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and Copyright Protection
•The existing medical reimbursement system and the pricing structure in China
•How to introduce pharmaceutical and healthcare products in both countries
•The entry of traditional Chinese medicine into the UK market

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Monday 1st October, 2007 Distinguished Professor H.W. Frijlink to visit IPI

Professor H.W. Frijlink from Groningen University is visiting the IPI to explore the possibility of collaborative research with Prof Jamshed Anwar’s research group in applying molecular modeling to investigate stability of biopharmaceuticals.

Prof. Frijlink is based at the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy at Groningen University will also be presenting a seminar entitled;

“Research on sugar glass technology and pulmonary drug delivery at the University of Groningen”

On Thursday, October 4th at 3pm in the IPI conference room, 2.11

Professor Frijlink’s research interests include; dosage forms for drugs, biopharmaceutical aspects of drugs, industrial production of dosage forms, pulmonary drug administration, stabilisation of biopharmaceutical drugs (both proteins and vaccines), sugar glass technology, and dissolution of poorly soluble drugs. He and some of his collaborators will be visiting the IPI on Thursday and Friday and will be available for discussion.

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