College of Pharmacy News

Jurata Thin Film, a startup based on the research discoveries of the College of Pharmacy's Maria Croyle, Ph.D., a professor in the Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, is listed as a finalist in the 2023 SXSW Innovation Awards in Patient Safety. Researchers in Dr. Croyle's lab have developed a peelable lightweight film that stabilizes biologics, is inexpensive and withstands extreme temperature changes. Jurata Thin Film works to bring Dr. Croyle's thin film technology to market.

The newly-created UT Seed Fund, which will provide funds to the most promising new startups built on university-owned intellectual property, will first invest in Jurata Thin Film, a startup based on the research discoveries of the College of Pharmacy's Maria Croyle, Ph.D., a professor in the Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery. Founded in 2019, Jurata has revolutionized the way vaccines and biologics are manufactured, distributed, stored and delivered across the world.

Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery professor Maria A. Croyle, Ph.D. earned this year's Best Paper Award from the University Co-op Research Excellence Awards, presented by UT's Office of the Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors and the University Co-operative Society.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) has released its grant research funding awards for the upcoming year. All three awarded research projects at The University of Texas at Austin involve College of Pharmacy faculty.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) recently awarded grants to six faculty members at UT Austin, including the Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry's Kevin Dalby, Ph.D. for his Targeted Therapeutic Drug Discovery and Development Program.

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.

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.