College of Pharmacy News

Division Head and Professor of Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery Dr. Bill Williams was on KXAN News to talk about promising new data from TFF Pharmaceuticals and Augmenta Bioworks. The companies plan to develop Dr. Williams' thin film freezing technology to better deliver antibody treatment directly to the lungs of COVID patients.

Three researchers from the College of Pharmacy won an award from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Foundation. Leticia R. Moczygemba, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Carolyn M. Brown, Ph.D. and Michael Johnsrud, Ph.D., R.Ph. were awarded $5,000 from the PhRMA Foundation for their proposal to advance racial and ethnic representation in value assessments.

Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery Professor Maria A. Croyle, Ph.D. received extensive coverage in the March 2021 edition of Texas Monthly regarding her innovative peelable film drug delivery research. Among its many potential applications, Dr. Croyle’s technology could deliver COVID-19 vaccines through a small oral strip, without need for refrigeration or extensive storage and transportation infrastructure.

Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery professor Maria A. Croyle R.Ph., Ph.D. earned 2021’s David Lehr Research Award from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). Dr. Croyle will receive research funding to investigate novel regulatory mechanisms of drug metabolism in the context of active infection with SARS-CoV-2 and after recovery.

Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery Professor Robert O. (Bill) Williams III, Ph.D. talks to CBS Austin about the potential for his thin film freezing technology to increase the shelf life of COVID-19 vaccines when they become available.

Nicholas A. Peppas, Sc.D. has been honored with the 2020 Oesper Award from the University of Cincinnati’s Chemistry Department and the Cincinnati Section of the American Chemical Society for his outstanding accomplishments in and contributions to science. The award recognizes his work in biomaterials, drug delivery, bionanotechnology, and nanomaterials.

Researchers in the lab of Dr. Hugh D.C. Smyth have released promising results of a new method to treat SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The antiviral niclosamide, when incorporated with human lysozyme as a carrier molecule, shows potential as an effective COVID-19 treatment when delivered directly to the airways.

The newly-formed Jurata Thin Film will work to bring Dr. Maria Croyle's thin film technology to market, allowing biologics and vaccines to be packaged, shipped, and stored at room temperature for extended periods of time.

Live subject testing results from the Williams Lab show that dry powder inhalation could be a potent and effective delivery method of the antiviral remdesivir to treat patients affected by COVID-19.