Report on Webinar Series Cell and Gene Therapy: From Concept to Clinical Use

With the launch of the UK Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products Focus Group in late 2020, a webinar series reviewing the current and emerging trends in cell and gene therapy was held virtually in May 2021. This webinar series was timely given the recent withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and the global COVID-19 pandemic impacting all sectors of the pharmaceutical sciences research landscape globally and in the UK. Delegates from the academic, industry, regulatory and NHS sectors attended the session where challenges and opportunities in the development and clinical implementation of cell and gene therapies were discussed. Globally, the cell and gene therapy market has reached a value of 4.3 billion dollars in 2020, having increased at a compound annual growth rate of 25.5% since 2015. This webinar series captured all the major developments in this rapidly evolving area and highlighted emerging concepts warranting cross-sector efforts from across the community in the future.

iEthics: An Interprofessional Ethics Curriculum

This article discusses the development, content, implementation, and evaluation of an interprofessional ethics curriculum that has been integrated as a required component of learning in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia (UBC), along with 12 other health professional programs. We start by giving a background and rationale for the development of the integrated ethics (iEthics) curriculum, led by UBC Health, and provide an overview of the pedagogical approach used, curriculum model, and content. We outline the way in which the iEthics curriculum has been implemented in the Faculty and share findings from program evaluations. In the discussion section, we reflect on our experience as facilitators for the interprofessional workshops and link these experiences with the findings from the program evaluations. These reflections highlight the way in which the iEthics curriculum has been successful in meeting the desired outcomes of learning in terms of the interprofessional delivery, and provide insights into how the findings from the iEthics evaluation informed other modules in the integrated curriculum and its implementation in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

History of Ilmul Saidala (Unani Pharmacy) Through Ages: A Critical Appraisal and Current Scenario

Ilmul Saidala (Unani pharmacy) is an important pharmaceutical branch of Unani System of Medicine, also known as Greco-Arabic medicine. Its historical evolution is intricately related with that of human’s disease and sufferings. The earlier records about the Ilmul Saidala reveal that the Greco-Roman civilization is credited with its origin and development. Then, the Arabs preserved their medical legacy, and enriched it with their pharmaceutical experiments, innovations, and newer formulations. Most of the physicians rendered voluminous compendium known as “Al-Qarābādhīn” (pharmacopoeia) on the pharmacy including pharmaceutical as well as cosmeceutical preparations. After the fifth century, the development in Unani Pharmacy has been greatly contributed by Arab physicians and the world acclaimed piece of knowledge from this period is Avicenna’s ‘Canon of Medicine’. The medical influences of the Arabs helped in further development, regulation, and advancement of pharmaceutical sciences in the European soil and evolved it as a distinctive institution of respect and public welfare. The vastness of knowledge of Greco-Arabic period can be judged from the fact that the contemporary innovations and developments in the pharmaceutical industry is primarily owed to the original contributions of Greek, Egyptian, and Arab philosophers and physicians, such as Hippocrates, Pedanios Dioscorides, Galen of Pergamon, Avicenna, Rhazes, Geber etc. In India, Mughals, especially emperor Akbar was very instrumental in the propagation of Unani medicine and had appointed Unani physicians in different cities of his territory. Later on, Khandan Shareefi (Shareefi family) and Khandan Azizi (Azizi family) played important roles in the promotion of Unani Pharmacy. In post-independence India , Hạkīm ‘Abd al-Hạmeed established Unani pharmacies on the lines of the modern pharmaceutical industry for the mass production of Unani formulations in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines. At present, Unani System of Medicine and its pharmacies enjoys the patronage of Government in India and other South-East Asian countries, such as Pakistan and Bangladesh along with post graduate education in Unani pharmacy. The present work is a sincere attempt of authors to critically appraise the Unani Pharmaceutical potentials from the past, the current waves of developments and issues, and their possible ways forward. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol. Vol. 21(1) 2022 Page : 24-36

Pharmacy, the continuously expanding field of science

Originating from the traditional herbal formulations, nowadays, Pharmacy covers all the disciplines focusing on the behavior of complex pharmaceutical forms, drug-releasing systems, and active compounds in the human body. Masters of pharmaceutical sciences must know the basics of pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutical technology, biotechnology, biology, physiology, pharmacology, and toxicology.

Lessons Learned From the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Implications for Pharmaceutical Graduate Education and Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in changes in the way we teach at all levels of education globally. This chapter specifically focusses on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on MS and PhD programs in pharmaceutical sciences in schools/colleges of pharmacy in the United States. Potential expectations to bring the pandemic in control by rolling out the vaccine gives us hope, but there is an unmet need of medicines to treat patients affected by the disease. The impact of the pandemic on pharmaceutical sciences education has been on the pedagogy of teaching, research, mentoring, writing, and enrollment. This has also affected the progression of students in their programs as well as their stress levels and well-being. The role of administrators and accreditation agencies is critical in supporting graduate education by providing leadership and directions for the successful outcomes of these programs. Challenges and opportunities for these graduate programs are discussed in this chapter.

Microencapsulation Technology a Holistic Approach in the Field of Pharmaceutical Sciences a Review

Microencapsulation is a technique that uses a coating to encapsulate microscopic particles or droplets in order to generate miniature capsules with therapeutic properties. The substance contained within the microcapsule is referred to as the core, internal phase, or fill, whereas the wall is referred to as a shell, coating, or membrane. A microcapsule is a small object that contains essential items, internal components, or fillers and is encased by a shell, cover, or membrane. Microcapsules range in size from 1 to 1000 micrometres. This approach is frequently used for medication administration, molecular protection, and robustness. The microencapsulation programme has been established as a different delivery mechanism for multiple treatment regimens and offers potential benefits beyond those of normal medication delivery systems. Microencapsulation is a well-established review dedicated to the preparation, properties, and applications of individually encapsulated novel small particles, as well as significant improvements to tried-and-tested techniques relevant to micro and nano particles and their use in a wide range of industrial, engineering, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and research applications. Its scope extends beyond conventional microcapsules to all other small particulate systems, such as self-assembling structures that involve preparative manipulation.

Transfiguring Healthcare: Three-Dimensional Printing in Pharmaceutical Sciences; Trends during COVID-19: A Review

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a unique technique that allows for a high degree of customisation in pharmacy, dentistry and in designing of medical devices. 3D printing satiates the increasing exigency for consumer personalisation in these fields as custom-made medicines catering to the patients’ requirements are novel advancements in drug therapy. Current research in 3D printing indicates towards reproducing an organ in the form of a chip; paving the way for more studies and opportunities to perfecting the existing technique. In addition, we will also attempt to shed light on the impact of 3D printing in the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Novel Synchronic Estimstion of Metronidazole, Ciprofloxacin and Doxycycline by RP-HPLC in Bulk and Pharmaceutical Formulation

Aim: To design simple, rapid, new analytical method for estimation of Metronidazole, Ciprofloxacin Doxycycline by using RP-HPLC in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage form. Study Design: Estimation of Metronidazole, Ciprofloxacin Doxycycline by using RP-HPLC in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage form was planned and executed. Place and Duration of Study: Chalapathi Drug Testing Laboratory, Chalapathi Institute Of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lam, Guntur-522034, Andhra Pradesh, India during the period of November 2019 to February 2020. Methodology: Metronidazole is an antibiotic and antiprotozoal medication. It is used either alone or with other antibiotics to treat pelvic inflammatory disease, endocarditis and bacterial vaginosis. Ciprofloxacin is an antibiotic used to treat a number of bacterial infections. Doxycycline is a tetracycline antibiotic that fights bacteria in the body. The study was carried out on SHIMADZU Prominance-i, LC-2030C system equipped with Shim-pack Gist (250 x 4.6 mm, 5μm) column and mobile phase was optimized by using mixture of methanol and 0.25mM potassium phosphate buffer in the ration of 60:40 v/v at a flow rate of 0.8 ml/min. The wavelength was set as 282nm at ambient temperature by injecting 20µl of solution and the run time was fixed for 10 min. Results: Linearity plot was constructed for concentration range of 5-15µg/ml for Metronidazole,5-15µg/ml for Ciprofloxacin and 1-8µg/ml for Doxycycline standard solutions. It shows best regression coefficient and y/s values. The accuracy of the proposed method was determined by performing recovery studies and was found between 98-102%. The repeatability testing for both sample and standard solutions the %RSD was found as <2.0% which is within the acceptable limits showing that the method is precise as well. The LOD and LOQ were found to be 0.33 and 0.99 µg/ml for Metronidazole, 0.33 and 0.99 µg/ml for Ciprofloxacin, 0.08 and 0.25 µg/ml for Doxycycline respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied for the pharmaceutical dosage form of Metronidazole, Ciprofloxacin Doxycycline and it was as economic, eco-friendly with less retention time around 10.0 min. Conclusion: The proposed method was validated in terms of linearity, range, Accuracy, precision, Specificity, Robustness. Method was successfully applied to the estimation of Metronidazole, Ciprofloxacin Doxycycline in combined marketed pharmaceutical dosage form.

Teaching reproducible research for medical students and postgraduate pharmaceutical scientists

In medicine and other academic settings, (doctoral) students often work in interdisciplinary teams together with researchers of pharmaceutical sciences, natural sciences in general, or biostatistics. They should be fundamentally taught good research practices, especially in terms of statistical analysis. This includes reproducibility as a central aspect. Acknowledging that even experienced researchers and supervisors might be unfamiliar with necessary aspects of a perfectly reproducible workflow, a lecture series on reproducible research (RR) was developed for young scientists in clinical pharmacology. The pilot series highlighted definitions of RR, reasons for RR, potential merits of RR, and ways to work accordingly. In trying to actually reproduce a published analysis, several practical obstacles arose. In this article, reproduction of a working example is commented to emphasize the manifold facets of RR, to provide possible explanations for difficulties and solutions, and to argue that harmonized curricula for (quantitative) clinical researchers should include RR principles. These experiences should raise awareness among educators and students, supervisors and young scientists. RR working habits are not only beneficial for ourselves or our students, but also for other researchers within an institution, for scientific partners, for the scientific community, and eventually for the public profiting from research findings.