Sweden Inhalation Network unites Swedish expertise in pulmonary drug delivery
Sweden Inhalation Network works to give a new generation of Swedish researchers access to leading expertise in pulmonary drug delivery. We teamed up with Professor Göran Alderborn that will present the network and their upcoming initiatives at the SweDeliver and NextBioForm webinar on Thursday 15 December.
Pulmonary delivery of drugs to the lung is central to the treatment of, among numerous diseases, asthma and COPD. The method also shows potential to deliver biopharmaceuticals, but we still need additional knowledge about the factors that control the deposition, release, dissolution and uptake of drugs in the lungs. In parallel with national competence center SweDeliver's ongoing research program, the Sweden Inhalation Network works to provide experience and know-how in this field to a new generation of Swedish pharmaceutical experts.
“Many studies are conducted with a focus on lung diseases and aerosols, but the pharmaceutical perspective has partly lived in the shadows at the universities. Therefore, Uppsala University established a research environment around pulmonary drug delivery as part of SDDF, the predecessor of SweDeliver. As director of SDDF, researchers in southwestern Sweden reached out to me to discuss a planned network. In April 2019 we met for the first time, and today the Sweden Inhalation Network unites nearly 100 employees in both academia and industry,” states Göran Alderborn, Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology.
Göran Alderborn defines the Sweden Inhalation Network as an informal grouping with geographic hubs in Gothenburg and Lund's Medicon Village, but also with a steady connection to Uppsala's Faculty of Pharmacy. With the goal of creating forums for scientific dialogue and ensuring a handover of the competence that is inevitably approaching retirement age, the network is currently preparing several arenas soon to be launched.
“Our initiatives include the new PhD course Pharmaceutical aerosols that we will give in late spring 2023. The course will include a number of digital lectures where employees in the pharmaceutical industry are welcome to participate free of charge, as well as a joint visit to a research environment yet to be chosen. In June, we will arrange, in collaboration with the Swedish Pharmaceutical Society, a mini-conference in Gothenburg, and will continue our series of seminars focusing on the formulation of and devices for inhalation drugs. We are also preparing a second scientific team that, with a focus on lung science, will carry out additional activities.”
Sweden Inhalation Network is primarily a forum for pharmaceutical, medical och technology experts with an interest in research and development of inhalation drugs. The ambition is continued growth, especially among junior researchers - and there are plans to form a network within the network exclusively for the experts of the future.
“We want to contribute to secure leading competence in pulmonary drug delivery within Swedish life science, but also provide the knowledge of where to get access to it. Therefore, we hope that as many as possible will take the opportunity to join online at the SweDeliver and NextBioForm's webinar 15 December, where we will present our network and future agenda.”
Magnus Alsne
Facts
- Sweden Inhalation Network will participate in the SweDeliver and NextBioForm Webinar 15 December, at 12.15–13.00
- The meeting will be attended by Gunilla Petersson, Lars Asking and Göran Alderborn that will give the presentation Sweden Inhalation Network - our vision and current status.
- SweDeliver’s research in pulmonary drug delivery revolves around controlled release, dissolution and absorption of drugs in the lungs, and powder mechanics of adhesive mixtures.