Union University

Union University School of Pharmacy

Pharmaceutical Sciences Update



Pharmaceutical Sciences UpdateMedicinal Chemistry

  • Dr. Blake Watkins recently filed for patent protection on two series of novel compounds in conjunction with his collaboration with faculty from Emory University College of Medicine and Mercer University College of Health Sciences in Atlanta, Georgia. The first series of compounds has demonstrated anticancer activity, particularly antitumor activity, while the second series holds potential for treating a variety of cardiovascular related diseases. Work is on-going on each of these projects to determine the full benefits of both drug-candidate classes. Dr. Damoder Reddy, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Watkins' lab, is developing technology that will allow for the rapid synthesis of complex molecules with biological activity.
  • Andrew Castleman and Lucas Ragan (Class of 2015) successfully completed Ligand-Based Virtual Screening under the direction of Drs. Philip and Watkins. Their work will help pave the way for the development of a new series of potential anti-tuberculosis agents.

Pharmacometrics

  • Dr. G. S. Bende and Dr. Abiy Eyakem have joined our program as Fellows of Pharmacometrics, both under the direction of Dr. Joel Owen. The pharmacometrics fellowships are funded in part through a research collaboration with a major pharmaceutical company. Dr. Eyakem is analyzing the impact of genetic factors on the drug concentration levels (PK) and efficacy (PD) for an AIDs drug, and studying the potential drug interaction between this drug and co-medication for tuberculosis. These data arise from a clinical trial which he led, in patients in Ethiopia. Dr. Bende is performing methods development to assess and optimize clinical trial design in pediatric patients. He is working with target-mediated drug-disposition models such as frequently arise with the administration of antibody type oncology drugs. Our past Fellow of Pharmacometrics, Dr. Amir Youssef, presented the first stage of this project, Effect of Clinical Trial Design on the Error Rates for Clearance Estimation in Pediatrics using Adult Bayesian Priors at the American College of Clinical Pharmacology (ACCP), Annual Meeting, in Atlanta in September.
  • Dr. Owen (co-author Jill Fiedler-Kelly) has also published a book entitled Introduction to Population Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Analysis with Nonlinear Mixed Effects Models (Wiley; Publication Date: July 8, 2014; ISBN-13: 978-0470582299).

Pharmaceutics

  • Dr. Neil Patel recently joined our Program as Post-Doctoral fellow of Pharmaceutics under the mentorship of Dr. Richard Addo. They have been working on a variety of research and scholarly projects. Some of their recent work in the area of Particle Drug Delivery has been selected for peer-reviewed publication by the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The title of this publication is Formulation and Characterization of Atropine Sulfate in Albumin-Chitosin Microparticles for In-Vivo Ocular Drug Delivery. This project was performed through extensive collaborations both internally and externally with investigators from various internationally and nationally located institutions. The findings of the work, which were deemed novel and significant by expert reviewers in the field, demonstrated that Dr. Addo's formulated micro-particle drug delivery system for Atropine Sulfate actually was superior in inducing mydriasis in rabbits eyes to the currently marketed solution product.
  • In the area of pharmaceutical compounding Dr. Addo published a manuscript titled Evaluation of the Stability of Ketoprofen in Pluronic Lecithin Organogel and the Determination of an Appropriate Beyond-use Date. This study was published this past August in the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding. The findings of the work, which generally concerns the clinical practice of drug compounding and specifically the proper assignment of Beyond-use Dates on prescriptions, concluded that topical Pluronic organogel based preparations containing the drug Ketoprofen are considered stable and therefore good for up to six months. This study was to help contribute to the establishment of assigning more appropriate Beyond-use dating on pharmacy compounded products.

    Dr. Addo got the opportunity to precept Mr. Kenneth (Rusty) Davis during his APPE rotation in his Research Lab. Their findings of their work was published in AAPS Pharm SciTech journal and subsequently was presented at the Annual AAPS meeting in San Diego in November 2014. The work was titled Development and Validation of a UPLC Method for Rapid and Simultaneous Analysis of Proton Pump Inhibitors.
    Addo and Davis

    At the same meeting, our past Post-doctoral Fellow of Pharmaceutics, Dr. Ruhi Ubale also presented a project with the mentor Dr. Addo on Formulation and Characterization of Thymoquinone-Loaded Microparticles for Treatment of Age Related Macular Degeneration.
    Ubale and Addo

    Currently Dr. Addo and his post-doctoral fellow, Dr. Neil J. Patel, are writing two books in the area of pharmaceutical sciences and drug delivery. The theme of one the books is Advancements in Ocular Drug Delivery, is considered more specialized and therefore geared to support professionals in the field regarding their understanding of ocular drug delivery. The second book is intended to serve as a general textbook in the area of Pharmaceutics for doctoral level students.

Questions about the Pharmaceutical Sciences Department? Contact Dr. Blake Watkins, Chair of the UUSOP Pharmaceutical Sciences Department, at bwatkins@uu.edu.