The College of Pharmacy is the newest member of a multi-university collaborative designed to advance pharmaceutical research and education initiatives.
The college has joined the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Education (NIPTE), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to research and education in pharmaceutical product development and manufacturing. The college is the 15th institution to join the NIPTE consortium. Members include leading pharmacy schools and engineering departments throughout the country with a proven track record in successfully obtaining grant funding, particularly awards from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Dean M. Lynn Crismon announced the college’s latest association, citing NIPTE’s mission of supporting collaborative research to advance the quality, safety, affordability and speed to market of medicines through interdisciplinary research and education in pharmaceutical technology. Crismon will sit on the institute’s Board of Directors
Within the College of Pharmacy, the affiliation will be centered primarily within the Drug Dynamics Institute (DDI) and the Division of Pharmaceutics.
Dr. Janet Walkow, executive director and chief technology office of the DDI, said, “The mission and vision of NIPTE aligns well with mission of both UT Austin and the UT College of Pharmacy. The initiative opens the door for further collaborate initiatives between our faculty and those of fellow member institution sand also provides greater opportunities for students to work on important pivotal research programs.”
Much of the institute’s work involves collaborations with the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Specific research areas include in vivo/in vitro correlations, process analytical technology, quality by design, biosimilars, excipients, and training program for CDER review.
Walkow said that the ability to combine expertise and work collectively with researchers across the NIPTE member institutions is expected to lead to increased extramural funding, and more importantly, hasten the development of new medications.
“Member institutes with NIPTE work together to apply for funding from both FDA and industry,” said Dr. Feng Zhang, assistant professor of pharmaceutics. “It providea a really good platform for the faculty members at UT Austin to collaborate with other member institutes.”
Among member institution, six have prestigious NIH-sponsored Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) programs. As an integrated consortium, NIPTE can help advance commercialize of drugs developed through UT Austin labs as well as other member academic institutions.