This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 955756.

Annual Meeting 2022

Cork, IE, 20 – 24 June 2022

Welcome

The EU-funded InPharma project is working towards making drug development more predictable and reducing animal testing in drug development by using a fully integrated, animal-free, end-to-end modelling approach to the formulation of drugs for oral administration.

InPharma is the first European Industrial Doctorate (EID) that aims at eliminating animals from the development of oral drug formulations by substituting them with computational and bio-predictive in vitro tools. InPharma will apply an ‘end-to-end’ model-based drug development approach, by linking data emerging from drug discovery into computational models that predict the optimal formulation design, which is then integrated into models that predict drug levels in simulated human clinical trials. This end-to-end model-based approach is essential to advance innovation and competitiveness of Pharmaceutical R&D in Europe, and at the same time support the European Commission’s goal of animal-free testing.

The pharmaceutical industry is still lacking personnel trained in novel computational and laboratory-based technologies for oral drug formulation. InPharma will bridge this qualification gap by training doctoral students (early-stage researchers, ESRs) in computational pharmaceutics, innovative lab-based predictive tools and physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling. In total, 13 ESRs have been recruited to work on individual projects as part of the InPharma network supported by experts in the field of oral drug development.

The InPharma project brings together the complementary expertise of six multi-national pharmaceutical companies, five world-class academic research institutions and eight partner organisations to ensure the best research and training conditions for each individual to reach the overall project goals. The ESRs have the opportunity to start their research careers in a truly intersectoral environment and each ESR will experience life as a researcher at an innovative pharmaceutical company and at one of the leading research institutions in Europe. The local PhD programmes will be complemented by network-wide training events designed to prepare the ESRs to become highly successful researchers in the pharmaceutical industry.

We hope that this kick-off will be a rewarding experience for all those attending the meeting and a first step in a successful career for the ESRs.

 

Welcome to the InPharma Annual Meeting 2022,

 InPharma Annual Meeting Organising Committee

Day 1, 20 June 2022: Progress Update

Location: LG51, UCC School of Pharmacy

9:00

Welcome & Introduction
Prof. Brendan Griffin, University College Cork 

9:15

ESR Training: Outreach, Dissemination

Julia Goetz, accelCH

10:15

Q&A Session for ESRs

Julia Götz &  Jaqueline Strehler, accelCH

10:45

Coffee break

11:15

Overview presentations by ESRs

Brief Overview Presentation by each ESR (5 min)

12:30

Presentation Skills Training 
Prof. Alan Kelly, UCC

13:30

Lunch break

14:30

Project Progress Update

Prof. Brendan Griffin, University College Cork

15:30

Coffee break

16:00

Board Meetings & ESR Networking Activity (Parallel Session)

17:00

End of Day


Day 2, 21 June 2022: Mid-term check

Location: LG51, UCC School of Pharmacy

10:00

Introduction

Prof. Brendan Griffin, University College Cork, REA Representative

10:05

Project Officer’s presentation on the monitoring of project implementation, reporting and purpose of the mid-term check

REA Representative

10:20

Coordinator’s Report, covering network’s progress and achievements in terms of recruitment and management

Prof. Brendan Griffin, University College Cork

10:45

Presentations WP1 leaders and by individual fellows covering bio, individual project (foreseen research, training, secondments,..) + Q&A

ESRs 1-6

 

11:20

Coffee Break

11:35

Presentations by individual fellows covering bio, individual project (foreseen research, training, secondments,..) + Q&A

ESRs 7-13

12:15

Meeting between the fellows and the Project Officer to discuss their experience within the network

ESRs & REA Representative

13:15

Lunch break

14:00

Meeting between coordinator and Project Officer

Coordinator’s team & REA representative

14:30

Feedback/Closing session

15:00

End of Day


Day 3, 22 June 2022: InPharma Open Symposium

Location: LG51, UCC School of Pharmacy

The theme for the InPharma Symposium is Advancing an integrated, animal-free, end-to-end modelling approach to oral drug product development. There will be four distinct sessions, as outlined below, followed by a round table discussion at the end of each session.

Welcome Address

08:50

Welcome Address

Prof John Cryan, Vice President for Research & Innovation at UCC

Session 1: Early stage drug solubility screening: from theory to prediction

Chair: Brendan Griffin

09:00

Determining the Solubility and Implications of the Result

Bradley Anderson, University of Kentucky

09:45

Solubility of salts – what are the pitfalls?
Alex Avdeef, in-ADME Research

10:30

Utilizing solubility data for in vivo performance prediction throughout (pre)clinical development

Chara Litou, Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd

Session 2: Predicting formulation performance

Chair: Jennifer Dressman

11:30

Informed selection of formulation approaches for poorly water soluble APIs

Anne Marie Healy, Trinity College Dublin

12:15

Role of PBPK in predicting formulation performance

Nikoletta Fotaki, University of Bath

Session 3: Regulatory perspectives: advancing 3Rs approach and animal free formulation screening approaches

Chair: Caitriona O’Driscoll

14:00

Scientific animal protection

JG Beechinor, HPRA, Ireland

14:30

Non-animal approaches and regulatory progress

Elisabet Berggren, European Commission Joint Research Centre

15:30

Saving Snoopy – reimagining late stage preclinical development with TIM

Susann Bellman, TNO, Netherlands

Session 4: Industrial perspectives on model informed drug development

Chair: Patrick O’Dwyer

16:00

Translational modeling of orally administered drug products: Challenges & Opportunities

Mark McAllister, Pfizer

16:30

PhysioMAD: an improved assessment of absorption potential & limitations in development.

Jef Stappaerts, Janssen


Day 4, 23 June 2022: Researcher symposium

Location: LG51, UCC School of Pharmacy

09:00

ESR 1 – 3 Research Presentations
(Max 20 minutes per ESR with 10 minutes afterward for questions/feedback)

10:30

Coffee break

11:00

ESR 4 – 7 Research Presentations
(Max 20 minutes per ESR with 10 minutes afterward for questions/feedback)

13:00

Lunch break

14:00

ESR 8 – 10 Research Presentations
(Max 20 minutes per ESR with 10 minutes afterward for questions/feedback)

15:30

Coffee break

16:00

ESR 11 – 13 Research Presentations
(Max 20 minutes per ESR with 10 minutes afterward for questions/feedback)

17:30

Parallel WP meetings/discussions

All participants

18:00

End of Day


Day 5, 24 June 2022: Generic and Transferable skills training

Location: LG01, UCC School of Pharmacy

9:00

Scientific publishing – Preparing scientific presentations and posters
Prof. Alan Kelly

10:00

Good scientific writing – Overview of how to write well, including review of scientific abstract prepared by each graduate
Prof. Alan Kelly

11:00

Coffee break

11:15

Scientific publications – process of PEER review, and publication ethics
Prof. Alan Kelly

12:15

Tips on scientific writing during the PhD ‘journey’ ‘If only someone had told me so….
Dr Patrick O’Dwyer

13:00

Lunch

13:45

Scientific and public dissemination – The impact of papers and researchers
Prof. Alan Kelly

14:30

Presentation skills – self assessment & group reflections on presentations from previous day
Prof. Alan Kelly

15:00

ESR Networking Activity 

18:00

End of Day


Additional information

Networking Events

  • Sunday: ESR Dinner (ESRs)
  • Day 1: Social Event (PIs), Treasure hunt around Cork city (ESRs)
  • Day 2: Conference and Pre-symposium dinner (All)
  • Day 3: Free Evening (All)
  • Day 4: Tour of famous Cork ‘landmarks’ including local breweries (All)
  • Day 5: Escape room challenge (ESRs)

About Cork

Cork, located on Ireland’s south coast, is the Republic of Ireland’s second largest city. The history of Cork dates back to a monastic settlement, founded by St Finbar in the sixth century however the ancestor of the modern city was founded between 915 and 922, when Viking settlers established a trading community.
Today Cork is a powerhouse of economic, industrial and business development. Cork is recognised internationally as a major European centre for the life science industry with. 7 out of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies are located in Cork, with over 30 companies are now operating in the sector in Cork, with approximately 15,000 people are employed in Life Sciences in the Cork region. Cork International Airport serves over 50 international destinations.
Cork is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city with a population of over 210,000 people yet it still manages to retain the pleasant charm and friendliness of a country town. The surrounding country is also lush and beautiful. Cork County boasts a magnificent coastline scooped and fretted by the Atlantic into great bays, secret coves, rocky headlands and long golden sands. Cork is the Food Capital of Ireland, home to the birthplace of modern Irish Cuisine at Ballymaloe House, the famed English Market and home to artisan food producers. Don’t just take our word for it – as Lonely Planet themselves said ‘Everything good about Ireland can be found in County Cork’.

Main contact


Prof. Brendan Griffin, University College Cork

InPharma Coordinator


Dr. Patrick O’Dwyer, University College Cork

Lecturer in Pharmaceutics

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