DDA 2013 provides the perfect opportunity for you to meet up with existing colleagues from around the world and establish new collaborations. With DDA 2012 being attended from delegates from all major continents we are looking forward to another exciting conference in 2013. 

The 2 day program covers recent advances in drug delivery technology from world experts in the field. Topics include:

• Colloidal & lipid delivery systems
• Macromolecules & self assembly 
• Bio & tissue engineering
• Respiratory drug delivery
• Nanotechnology
• Advanced characterisation

With a packed scientific and social program, we look forward to welcoming you to Sydney.

​For more information the DDA 2013 Flyer can be downloaded here

Respiratory Technology celebrates its fourth month since establishment at the WIMR. 

April has been a short month for the group, with members of the Respiratory Technology team attending the International Society of Aerosol Medicine conference in North Carolina, followed by meetings with collaborative partners on the East Coast of the US. At home, members of the team who supported the WIMRs Student Research Symposia. 80 people attended this years meeting and Dr Mehra Haghi gave a plenary lecture. Yang gave a postgrad talk and Jess and John had posters which attracted significant attention by other attendees, congratulations to all!

Two papers from an international university-industry consortia were published for which we have received amazing feedback and support from the local pharmaceutics and inhalation community; many thanks for all who commented on our media feeds! It was also announced this month that Respiratory Technology and the WIMR have supported the Australian Chapter of the Controlled Release Society by offering to host the 2013 Drug Delivery Australia Conference in Sydney on the 24 and 25 of October (See www.crsaustralia.org and www.facebook.com/DrugDeliveryAustralia for further details). 

This month has also seen the appointment of YY and Eric as postdoctorate researchers within the WIMR. YY's research will focus on understanding the mechanisms underpinning drug interactions at a cellular level, with a view to treat chronic infection and hypermucosal secretion at the epithelia, while Eric will focus on the dynamics of particle production in combination inhalation systems. We welcome both! Additionally the group would like to introduce and welcome two new research students, Ningyi Xu and Giula Ballerin. Ningyi is undertaking a project looking at the dynamics of pMDI aerosol droplet formation and will be co supervised by Eric, while Giulia, co-supervised by YY, is studying new approaches to enhance clearance of mucus in patients with COPD and Cystic Fibrosis. 

The month ahead; May looks to be an interesting month with the launch of a new group-initiative and the ramp-up of a new area of research (watch this space…). Additionally, members of the team will be attending Respiratory Drug Delivery in Berlin towards the end of the month. See you there…

Industry-academic partnerships have become a popular topic in recent years, as evident from dedicated sessions, podium presentations and discussion panels at leading pharmaceutical and respiratory R&D conferences. The reason for this drive is unclear at first; however, synergistic partnership between academia and industry has the potential to enhance productivity within the sector, ultimately resulting in new technologies. 

A pessimist would argue that academics attempt to engage with industry for an additional source of income, while industry target researchers to gain intellectual property for significant profit. However, this is rarely (if ever) the case. Partnerships between academics and industry provide the means to solve significant research questions, develop new technologies and provide new avenues of research that cannot be easily achieved through isolation. Furthermore, large scale multi-institutional and industry projects can be achieved without direct funding from the industry partner. 

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Multi-institute academic-industry consortia

An example of such a research program is the multi-institute “consortia project” developed by , Chiesi Ltd, The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, University of Parma, Kings College London and University of Sydney. In late 2011, a group of academic and industry leaders met openly to discuss aerosol science and the implication of formulation parameters on drug transport and bioavailability after deposition in the lung. The result of this discussion was a multi-study consortia project between all members to investigate how formulation variables in pressurized metered dose inhalers (pMDIs)influence drug uptake in the lung. Each aspect of the study was funded by the local working party and no funds were exchanged between centres. The nature of the study involved personnel exchange between each of the centres and discrete collaborative projects towards a common goal. 

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First two papers published in the ‘European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics’

The consortia project commenced early 2012 and to-date a series of significant findings have been made. The first two projects were focussed on developing a series of identical pMDI formulations, in terms of lung deposition, that had significantly different physico-chemical properties (such as morphology and excipients etc.), and to evaluate those using cell and non-cell based in vitro techniques. In February 2013 the consortia reported the results of these initial studies, with the first two papers published in the ‘European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics’

For further information of the findings follow the links: paper 1 and paper 2

The consortia continue to work towards understanding fundamental research questions in the area of respiratory science. For further information contact: paul.young@sydney.edu.au

Respiratory Technology are happy to announce that they are working with the Australian Controlled Release Society Chapter to host Drug Delivery Australia 2013. DDA (formerly AUS-CRS) is the premier Drug Delivery conference in Australia. In its seventh year, the conference has become a focal point for scientists from academia, industry and government agencies to meet, network and discuss the latest developments in the Drug Delivery field.  

The conference will be hosted at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research's conference centre on 24th -25th October 2013. To get unto date information please follow the links to www.crsaustralia.org and www.facebook.com/DrugDeliveryAustralia. We look forward to seeing you at the WIMR in October 2013!

Respiratory Technology celebrates its third month since establishment at the WIMR. March has been a productive month both socially and scientifically. 

On a social note, Alessandro entertained local residents in the Sydney's Inner West by playing a session at Mr Falcon's; for those who missed out, he will be playing a longer chill-out session in April (keep an eye on our www.Facebook/RespiTech feed for more info). The winners of the WIMR 'Think Tank' Challenge (Ketan, Mehra, YY, Jess and Eric) enjoyed fine dining at Glebe Point Dinner courtesy of the WIMR. Earlier in the month the RespiTech team took part in the Woolcock 'CookUp' to celebrate the Dr Cheryl's Salome's retirement from the Respiratory Physiology and Imaging group. Members from throughout the institute attended and cooked dishes, which were shared and enjoyed by all. 

Each month the group would like to congratulate individuals for their personal achievements over the past month. Mehra graduated with a PhD from the Faculty of Pharmacy in a ceremony held at the Great Hall. In the same month, both YY and Eric gave their final PhD presentations at two of the WIMR seminar series. Two papers were accepted for publication in 'Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy' and the 'European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences'. The first, studied the potential uptake of antibiotics after deposition in the lung while the second investigated the potential uses of Quercitin as a flavanoid for inhalation therapy, with a view to target a range of diseases. Lastly, YY and Eric completed and submitted their PhD thesis to the Post-Graduate board so that it could be externally evaluated.

Finally we welcome a new member to the group, Sharon Davis. Sharon has moved to the WIMR from the Faculty of Pharmacy to work in the area of inhaler device use in patients with disabilities. Sharon is supervised by A/Prof Sinthia Bosnic-Anticevich (who recently joined the WIMR Clinical Management Group at the WIMR) and is co-supervised by Paul and Dany.

RespiTech Members Celebrate Launch of New Respiratory Consultancy and Contract Testing Services Company, Housed at the WIMR

​Pulmatix is a dynamic new company offering consultancy and testing services to the pharmaceutical sector.  We can provide a range of services ranging from molecular pharmacological studies of drug and excipient interactions at the lung interface to advanced physical characterisation, device development and aerosol evaluation.

Paul M Young and Judy Black, two of the Directors of Pulmatix commented:

"We are in a unique position to offer a range of services, from molecular pharmacological studies of drug and excipient interactions at the lung interface, to advanced physical characterisation, device development and aerosol evaluation. Our key management team has extensive experience in respiratory pharmacology, physicochemical characterisation and aerosol formulation."

Pulmatix has state-of-the-art cellular biology and aerosol testing laboratories and a scientific team with the expertise to match. Whether a company requirement is to solve a production problem for a current formulation, study the effectiveness of an API after deposition in the lung or wish to re-formulate an existing product or develop a new one, Pulmatix can help.

For more information visit www.pulmatix.com

​​Dr Mehra Haghi with Paul and Daniela

Mehra Haghi was awarded the degree Doctor of Philosophy by the University of Sydney in an official graduation ceremony. Mehra started her PhD in 2009 in the Faculty of Pharmacy under the supervision of Paul Young, Daniela Traini (WIMR) and Mary Bebawy (UTS). Mehra submitted her thesis, entitled 'Deposition, diffusion and transport of aerosol micro-particulates across lung epithelia' within 3 years of commencing. Dr Haghi is now employed at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research (WIMR) as a Postdoctorate Researcher in Respiratory Technology. Mehra has made an outstanding achievement as an early career researcher and has already published 8 research articles in high impact journals within her field, as well as a number of peer reviewed full conference papers.

In the same ceremony,  Kanika Jetmalani was awarded Master of Philosophy. Kanika was supervised by Daniela, Paul and Peter Stewart (MIPS, Monash) and finished her degree within one year; publishing a journal article on agglomerated systems for enhancing respiratory drug delivery . Kanika is now undertaking a PhD program under the supervision of Greg King in the Airway Physiology and Imaging Group at the WIMR. The Respiratory Technology Team would like to congratulate both Mehra and Kanika for their achievements.

February has seen the launch of the Respiratory Technology group’s new laboratory facilities. An opening party, hosted on Valentines Day, was a great success and attended by colleagues from Pharmacology, collaborators, industry supporters, members and friends of the Institute. Guests were given a tour by members of the group and enjoyed canapés and drinks in the Board room overlooking Blackwattle Bay.

Each month the group would like to congratulate individuals for their personal achievements over the past month. The group has published 4 new peer reviewed articles this month. Firstly, congratulations to Mehra who published a paper studying how pMDI formulation variables affect drug absorption at a cellular level. This was followed by a second co-authored paper focused on engineering particles for the same study.

Congratulations also to Judy who had a paper accepted reporting the biofilm disruption effects of novel silver nanoparticles. She hopes to incorporate this technology into intubation tubes for the treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia in intensive care wards. Also, Daniela was corresponding author on a paper that reported a new method of delivering both oral and inhalation drugs simultaneously to enhance patient compliance and improve treatment in COPD.

Finally and most importantly, the group would like to welcome new members. Amitabh Prakash, honors student from the Discipline of Pharmacology in the School of Medicine has joined the group. Supervised by Daniela, Paul, YY, Brian Oliver (Cell Biology Group) and Lucy Morgan (Concord Hospital), Amitabh will undertake a project studying the affect of novel therapeutics on mucociliary clearance in the lung.

On the 14 February the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research (WIMR) hosted a party to celebrate the opening of the new state-of-the-art laboratory facilities. The new suite of labs will allow researchers to focus on developing new technology and approaches for treating respiratory diseases. 

Diseases such as asthma, COPD, pulmonary infection and lung cancer affect hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. The new laboratories will allow the WIMR to bridge basic sciences with the clinic to develop new drug delivery systems for treating these diseases. The new laboratory facilities include a 3D prototyping centre, thermal analysis suite, particle sizing room, imaging lab, analytical chemistry hub and particle engineering and aerosol characterisation labs. The Respiratory Technology group will utilise these facilities to identify and target diseases, engineer new devices, formulate drug delivery system and test formulation effectiveness in vitro. 

The laboratories were opened by Robert Estcourt (Chairman of the Board), and Carol Armour (Director of the Institute) and the celebrations attended by Institute Members, Collaborators, Industry Supporters and Friends of the WIMR.

January has been a busy month for the Respiratory Technology team at the WIMR.

Of note, our new laboratories and installation of core facilities have been completed. All postgraduate students, postdocs and staff have now moved in to the WIMR and research programs are ramping up. Importantly, we have successfully launched our new Website www.Respitech.org along with social media hubs, via Facebook and Twitter.

The group would like to congratulate individuals for their personal achievements over the past month.

YY's (Hui Xin Ong) talk at DDL in Scotland was a success and she was nominated a finalist for the Pat Burnell New Investigator award; Jess (Jesslynn Ooi) received the award for best scientific poster. Jess was also awarded a prestigious Endeavour Research Fellowship to spend six months at UCL studying thermal events in pMDI systems with Prof Simon Gaisford.

Paul was appointed onto the Editorial Advisory Board of Pharmaceutical Research while Daniela saw the launch of a new textbook focussed on educating undergraduate and postgraduate students in the basic principles of inhalation science.

Additionally, the team has published two papers this month suggesting that commonly used oral medications, such as statins and NSAIDS, may provide new therapeutic approaches to treating respiratory disease.

Importantly, the group would like to welcome new members. Alesssandro Varnousfaderani from the University of Ferrara (Italy), co-supervised with Dr Gaia Colombo, has joined the group to undertake a project on particle engineering of novel macrolide drug delivery systems.

Finally, the group enjoyed celebrating the Australia Day long-weekend with an indoor BBQ (circumventing the backlash of Ex-Cyclone Oswald).