New Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology aims to simplify the path from laboratory to treatment

In 2025, Uppsala University appointed Albert Mihranyan as a new Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology. With this recruitment, the Faculty of Pharmacy has broadened its already prominent position in powder technology to include materials technology and the production of biological drugs, the latter a field that, following close to exponential growth, today forms the basis for many of the world's best-selling drugs.

“Biological drugs are continuously opening new doors, but high thresholds remain between the laboratory and clinical trials. What determines whether a biomolecule or vector results in a pharmaceutical drug is not the lack of new modalities, but rather the ability to produce clinical quantities in a scalable, efficient and reproducible way. Here we contribute with a focus on chemistry, manufacturing and control. The potential is huge and includes everything from peptide drugs and proteins to the viral vectors that are still among the world's most expensive treatments,” says Mihranyan.

In parallel, the research group plays a key role in the Faculty of Pharmacy's efforts to strengthen regulatory competence. A recent report identifies major needs for education and expertise with a focus on the regulations surrounding drugs. At BMC, several initiatives have already left the starting blocks, including Uppsala University's freestanding course Regulatory Requirements and Quality Assurance in Development and Manufacturing of Pharmaceutical Products. The next important step will be taken this spring with three PhD students being recruited with placements at each of the faculty's three departments.

“Being involved in innovation projects as well as supporting writing regulatory documents, I know from experience how challenging it is to navigate the regulatory landscapes. The launch of a faculty-wide initiative in this field is, in my view, an important factor in long-term consolidation of Sweden's position as a leading life science nation, and we are very much looking forward to welcoming one of the three new PhD students to our group.”

With the position as Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology came the strategically important position as leader of SweDeliver's Aerosol Drug Delivery work package. The competence center, with its academic hub at the Faculty of Pharmacy, unites pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies throughout Europe, and with Vinnova's decision to continue funding, the organisation is all set for a continued expansion of its research program. Upcoming investments include two new doctoral positions in pharmaceutical technology and pharmaceutical physics, both with a focus on biologicals.

“That the companies in SweDeliver put cooperation and shared benefit before acting as competitors makes the center a unique resource and a fantastic environment to become part of. For me personally, joining the Faculty of Pharmacy has also meant a lot. This is where I started my research career in Sweden in 2000, and to be able to return a quarter of a century later is literally a homecoming. Everywhere I turn, I encounter familiar faces and new opportunities, so we are truly entering our second year at BMC with great confidence.”

text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Mikael Wallerstedt a o