Partnership forging the way in pharmaceutical product design methodologies
The University of Hertfordshire has launched a three year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Consort Medical – Bespak Drug Delivery Devices, a global market leader in the development and manufacturing of drug delivery devices.
The KTP will explore the technical and commercial feasibility of applying new tools and techniques to the design of respiratory devices such as Metered Dose Inhalers (MDIs), with the aim of significantly reducing time and cost to take such devices to market.
Darragh Murnane, Professor of Pharmaceutics and Director of Hertfordshire Science Partnership at the University of Hertfordshire, commented: 'The University is delighted to partner with Consort Medical – Bespak in this capacity. The purpose of our knowledge exchange initiatives is to provide businesses with additional expertise and resources, whether that be in terms of technology, design or process. This KTP allows us to work with Consort Medical – Bespak in all three of these areas and we’re looking forward to contributing to innovations in this space.'
Mark Knowles, Head of Product Engineering at Consort Medical – Bespak said, 'We are proud to engage in R&D with a leading pharmaceutical research university. We hope that the outcomes of this KTP will enable us to further improve our development lifecycle so we can respond even more quickly and efficiently to the ever-changing landscape and demands of the drug delivery market and enable us to implement more advanced, intuitive design procedures.'
The KTP, funded by Innovate UK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, will see KTP Associate and post-doctoral research fellow Dr Ben Thorne based in-house working with Andrew Sapsford, a Principal Development Engineer at Consort Medical – Bespak under the guidance of KTP Supervisor, Associate Professor Stewart Kirton and Head of Pharmaceutical and Regulatory Science and Academic Lead, Professor Darragh Murnane from the University of Hertfordshire. They will provide the expertise and in-depth technical knowledge to drive this research forward, ranging from chemical and mechanical engineering proficiency, to knowledge of the computational methods and predictive data modelling Consort Medical – Bespak want to start employing.
KTPs are part of the University of Hertfordshire’s portfolio of business support services, which aim to build collaborations between the institution and businesses to foster innovation and stimulate growth, particularly within the sectors of pharmacology and life sciences technology.
About Innovate UK / Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
This partnership received financial support from the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) programme. KTP aims to help businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within the UK knowledge base. This successful Knowledge Transfer Partnership project, funded by UK Research and Innovation through Innovate UK, is part of the government’s Industrial Strategy.
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