Ascendia Pharmaceutical Solutions’ fourth annual two-day workshop was its most successful to date, as the room was filled to capacity with pharmaceutical industry leaders. The Advances in Innovative Technologies for Formulation and Delivery of Molecules Across All Modalities featured 19 technical presentations given by renowned experts in academia and industry, as well as networking opportunities, and more – all with the goals of improving drug delivery and advancing products that improve patient lives for themselves, as well as, their loved ones, caregivers and others in their support system.
“Each year our technical workshop grows and continues to create a forum from which leaders can share ideas and advances that will shape and improve drug development today and in the future. I would like to thank our speakers who prepared compelling presentations, as well as all those who attended. Special thanks also have to be given to our sponsors Shin-Etsu Chemical and Dyhydromatics,” said Sr. Director of Scientific Affairs for Ascendia Pharmaceutical Solutions, Shaukat Ali, who serves as the event organizer.
Industry Leaders Gather in Princeton
Ascendia Pharmaceutical Solutions intentionally invited a group of speakers with expertise in various areas of drug development to create a diverse program. The result was an agenda that appealed to pharma and biopharma professionals alike at all stages of formulation development and manufacturing of drug products.
Among those who gathered at the Crowne Plaza Princeton Conference Center were formulation scientists, analytical scientists, researchers, regulatory professionals, pharma/biopharma consultants, professors, and students. Corporate leadership, including managers, vice presidents, chief scientific officers, and CEOs also were in attendance.
“We once again achieved our goal of bringing together innovators from all over the world and who are involved in all stages of drug development,” said Ascendia Pharmaceutical Solutions Founder, Jingjun “Jim” Huang, Ph.D. “They all came to our workshop with the shared purpose of shaping the future of pharmaceutical development.”
Advances in Drug Delivery and Formulation Technologies
The two-day event focused on exploring the latest advances in drug delivery and formulation technologies. Innovative nanotechnologies designed to address unmet medical needs and the expanding role of nanoparticles in oncology and inflammatory diseases were examined. Discussions explored how macrophage interactions influence therapeutic performance and how antibody-drug conjugated lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) can improve targeting of tumor cells, among other topics.
Those insights began at an introductory networking breakfast on Day One. It was followed by a keynote address given by Robert Langer, ScD, Institute Professor, MIT. Other speakers on Day One included:
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Julie Champion, PhD, Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology
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Anette Müllertz, PhD, Professor, University of Copenhagen
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Michael Lowinger, PhD, Executive Director, Merck & Co.
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Uday Kompella, PhD, Professor, University of Colorado
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Diane Burgess, PhD, Distinguished Professor, University of Connecticut
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Hao-jui Hsu, PhD, Principal Scientist, Pfizer
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Shashwat Gupta, PhD, Dr. Advisor Engineering, Eli Lilly & Co.
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Mengqi Yu, PhD, Sr. Scientist, Abbvie
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Patrick Ahl, PhD, PLA Formulation Consulting LLC (Panel Discussion Coordinator)
Day one was capped by a networking hour after the presentations and attended by all participants. To honor the guest speakers, Ascendia also hosted the special dinner for them.
Day two continued the thought leadership presentations and also presented additional networking opportunities for attendees. Kinam Park, PhD, Showalter Distinguished Professor, Purdue University, began the day with a keynote that set the stage for compelling presentations that spurred further discussion. Presenters were:
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Annette Bak, PhD, MBA, Head Advanced Drug Delivery, Astra Zeneca
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Michael Mitchell, PhD, Hibbert Professor, University of Pennsylvania
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Stephen Buckley, PhD, Vice President, Novo Nordisk
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Christopher Morrison PE, MS, Associate Director, GlaxoSmithKline
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Cathy Fromen, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Delaware
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Vivek Gupta, PhD, FAAPS, Associate Professor, St. John's University
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Robert (Bob) Prud'homme, PhD, Emeritus Professor, Princeton University
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Ryo Ohashi PhD, Associate Director, Shionogi with Co-Speaker, Jiayi Chen, PhD, Associate Principal Scientist, Ascendia Pharmaceutical Solutions
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Paul Meers, PhD, Professor, Rutgers University (Panel Discussion Coordinator)
Among the topics presented by the experts were excipient selection strategies for peptide and GLP-1 delivery, advances in long-acting injectables, and the development of high-concentration nanosuspensions for controlled-release applications. LNP technologies for various drug delivery nanotechnology applications and the use of LNPs for delivering mRNA, biologics, and other macromolecules were covered, as well. The program also addressed amorphous solid dispersion development, hydrophobic ion pairing approaches to improve solubility and in vivo efficacy, and advanced modeling and multivariate data analysis techniques that support drug product development.
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Ascendia Chief Commercial Officer Robert J. Bloder humbly thanked Frost & Sullivan for recognizing Ascendia for “Industry Excellence in Best Practices” and Todd Daviau, Ascendia President and COO, delivered inspiring opening remarks and reminding all in attendance that “the patient is waiting!” In closing remarks, Dr. Huang summarized the two-day workshop by thanking all the speakers, participants and colleagues for making the event a success.
Scroll through our image gallery to see highlights from our event. You can also contact us to learn more about formulation and drug delivery advances that can help your current and future projects.