NEWS AND CURRENT EVENTS

Department of Pharmaceutics

Invited International Presentation

Dr. Michael A. Repka—Dr. Repka has been invited to provide a keynote presentation at the APV Experts’ Workshop on Hot-melt extrusion and its use in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical dosage forms in Ludwigshafen, Germany on March 4-5, 2008. He will present a lecture on “Extrusion of PEO films and protection of sensitive actives during extrusion”.

Dr. MichaelA. Repka was recently elected vice chair of the Formulation Design and Development (FDD) Section within the American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences(AAPS). The FDD Section is the largest section within that 12,000 member national association.

Michael A. Repka, D.D.S., Ph.D., Chair and Professor of the Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy at The University of Mississippi, was named Chair of the Modified Release Focus Group (MRFG) of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) for 2011. The MRFG is affiliated with the Sections, Formulation Design and Development (FDD), Manufacturing Science & Engineering (MSE) and Physical Pharmacy &Biopharmaceutics (PPB). MRFG is one of the largest focus groups within AAPS and FDD has the largest number of AAPS members.

The purpose of the Modified Release Focus Group (MRFG) is to provide a forum for scientists - representing academia, industry, and regulatory agencies - involved in the mechanistic understanding, formulation design & development, process development & scale-up, as well as the related regulatory aspects of modified release dosage forms. Modifying the release of a drug from a dosage form is desired to control the physiological site and timing of drug uptake by the body. This focus group will give a forum to exchange ideas and share learning in the field of modified drug release technology.

Modified release formulation design can be conducted for oral and non-oral administration routes. For an oral dosage form, modification of drug release can be achieved via mechanisms that include drug diffusion, dosage form erosion, osmosis-mediated drug delivery, and others. Particulate, matrix, and coated systems represent a major portion of the oral modified release dosage forms. Modified drug release from dosage forms is complemented by the allied processes of drug design, of dosage administration, and of membrane transport & absorption of drug to the biological site of action; discussion of these phenomena are the subject of other AAPS-sponsored focus groups. The MRFG develops joint programming with these other focus groups to offer members comprehensive coverage of important drug delivery challenges and technologie

Some of the activities of the Modified Release Focus Group (MRFG) are:

Solicit and submit programming ideas related to modified release topics for AAPS annual meetings.
Organize educational events such as workshops and symposia, as appropriate.
Pose questions or answer those of others' in the MRFG Forum, a chat board for Focus Group members (non-confidential information, only, please).
Bring together scientists interested in this area via email distribution lists, newsletters, face to face meeting at the annual meeting, etc.

Please access the following link to find out more about MRFG or to join the Modified Release Focus Group of AAPS.
http://www.aapspharmaceutica.com/inside/focus_groups/ModRel/index.asp

DEPARTMENTAL AWARDS:

DR. S. NARASIMHA MURTHY

Faculty Focus

PHARMACEUTICS PROFESSOR RECEIVES
'NEW INVESTIGATOR' AWARD

Narasimha Murthy displays the plaque he received as part of his murthy award
New Investigator Research Award. Since joining the pharmacy school faculty in 2006, S. Narasimha Murthy has received three National Institutes of Health research grants and directed six graduate students and two postdoctoral research fellows. Under the assistant professor of pharmaceutics' tutelage, those students and fellows have published dozens of papers in peer-reviewed journals, secured a few research grants on their own and received several professional honors.

Murthy's NIH-funded research focuses on developing an electrically mediated technique to deliver iron through the skin of anemic patients. He already has invented several novel technologies to treat skin and nail diseases, including one that uses electric current to drive antifungal drugs into the plate of fingernails and toenails to treat onychomycosis. His research group also has developed a noninvasive technique to sample drugs from the skin, enabling researchers and others to determine how much of the medications reach the skin after they're administered.

Recognizing these and other accomplishments this fall, the school presented Murthy with its inaugural New Investigator Research Award, which includes an engraved plaque and a $1,500 check. Michael A. Repka, Murthy's department chair, nominated him for the award.

"Dr. Murthy has established himself as a notable researcher in the area of noninvasive drug-delivery systems by developing several innovative concepts and technologies in this field," Repka said. "In conjunction with his prolific publishing record, he will emerge as an established researcher and enhance the national and international recognition of the department, school and university."

Murthy, who plans to pursue his research and other endeavors with renewed vigor, said, "It is very motivating to receive this award. My special thanks to Dr. Repka, Dean (Barbara) Wells and the school's administration."

It is unusual for a new faculty member to have accomplished so much in so little time, said Charles D. Hufford, the pharmacy school's associate dean for research.

"Although he has been on our faculty for only four years, his drug-delivery research is already well-funded by the NIH, and he has proven he is committed to the professional development of students and young investigators," Hufford said. "He is a well-deserving first recipient of our New Investigator Research Award."

In addition to 50 journal articles, Murthy authored seven chapters on drug-delivery systems in the "Advances in Industrial Pharmacy" textbook. He also edited two textbooks released this fall and helped edit another to be released next year. As a series editor for Taylor and Francis Publishers, he will help bring out a number of textbooks on the theme "Drug Delivery Systems: Design by Disease."

Murthy is on the editorial board of Recent Patents on Drug Delivery and Formulation, Clinical Medicine-Dermatology, Open Dermatology Journal, Chronicles of Young Scientists and Scientia Pharmaceutica. He also reviews manuscripts for 23 journals, including the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmaceutical Research and Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

The American Pharmacists Association recognized him as one of the top 20 reviewers in 2008 and 2009, and MIT's Indian Business Club, a student body addressing South Asia's business needs, presented Murthy with a Global Indus Technovators Award in 2009. The award, which focuses on "emerging technologies bound to have a far-reaching impact on the world," recognizes "distinguished young innovators working at the confluence of technology, research and entrepreneurship."

GRADUATE STUDENTS

SRINIVASA MURTHY SAMMETA

Third place, Graduate student poster competition - Annual Poster Session of the National Center for Natrual Products Research, School of Pharmacy, Univeristy of Mississippi (2009).
AstraZeneca Traveship Award, 2009 AAPS Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, CA (November 2009).
Center of Research Excellence in Natural Porducts Neuroscience (CORE-NPN) Fellowship (November 2009).
Best Oral Presentation, PharmForum 2010 (May 2010).

Siva Ram Kiran Vaka

Center of Research Excellence in Natural Products Neuroscience (CORE-NPN) Fellowship (November 2009).
Best Poster Presentation, PharmForum 2010 (May 2010).
FIP-PSWC/AAPS Travelship Award, New Orleans, LA, 2010.