News
The ubiquitous presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment contributes to biodiversity threats. Their presence and bioactivity in plants, invertebrates, (soil)microorganisms, fish and other vertebrates may influence the genetic, species and ecosystem diversity. Novel and global approaches are urgently needed to cope with the historical pollution and minimize future contaminations. UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15), 7 […]
The S-DISCO programme challenges students beyond just lectures. In the spirit of learning by doing, students explore how plants and animals react to environmental exposure to pharmaceuticals during practical exercises. Sounds interesting? Apply for the programme today!
We need to apply a One Health approach to cope with antimicrobial resistance: all sectors must actively be involved in strengthening preventive measures. This includes development and access to safe vaccines, rational use of antimicrobials, sound antimicrobials waste management and discovery of novel targets to develop safer medicines. World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) is celebrated […]
During the 18th EPSA Autumn Assembly in Athens, we had the opportunity to present the S-DISCO program to the European Pharmaceutical students attending the congress. During an interactive session on sustainability in drug discovery, DruQuaR scientist Kevin Van der borght discussed with the students how to implement sustainability in the earliest phases of the drug […]
Today, the S-DISCO students visited the Ecotron of UHasselt, for the course ´Sustainable Landscape of Drug Discovery'. There, the effects of future climate on agroecosystems are investigated and new mitigation strategies explored. Thank you prof. Francois Rineau for this very interesting visit!
As a consequence of the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017, a draft guidance about competitive generic therapy (CGT) is published with the aim to incentivize generic competition in USA. The designation of medicine as CGT, the request for designation, the expedited review and the 180 days exclusivity period are explained in this draft guideline (rev.1). […]
EMA and the Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) have recently issued a joint statement confirming that biosimilar medicines approved in the European Union (EU) are interchangeable with their reference medicine or with an equivalent biosimilar. Interchangeability of biosimilars without additional clinical trials required will improve the global accessibility of biological medicines.
On Monday, September 19th, the very first group of S-DISCO students started their journey of learning and sharing knowledge with the summer school at GhentUniversity. The summer school is packed with introductory sessions to prepare them for the official start of lectures. Throughout the week, the students had the opportunity to get to know the […]
The Young MedChem Forum (YMCF) of the Société de Chimie Thérapeutique (SCT) is organizing its second AskMeAnything session on September 22 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for doctoral and post-doctoral students in medicinal and organic chemistry. Registration before September 20 https://forms.gle/yTM8nWExNxwPiPqe7 Follow the YMCF on LinkedIn and Twitter.
📣 APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN Applications for the S-DISCO programme (starting September 2023) are now open! The application deadline for scholarship and self-funded students is 31 January 2023, but early submissions are encouraged.
The WHO published an interesting position paper to realize the 2022-2031 neurological disorder action plan. It provides a conceptual framework how brain health can be optimized throughout life, and states i.a. that access to high-quality, safe and affordable neurological essential medicines are essential for optimizing brain health as they can reduce mortality and morbidity and […]
Ending AIDS in children by 2030: a new global alliance set up by UNAIDS, UNICEF, WHO, civil society organisations, international partners and 12 national governments. Pillars for collective actions are identified to close the treatment gap between adults (three quarters on therapy) and children (only half on therapy), including implementing measures to reduce the risk […]
Groningen University ranks 3rd on the 2021 Sustainable University Ranking. Certainly an inspirational setting for hosting the third semester of the S-DISCO program!
FDA issued a draft guidance in July 2022 on “dose banding”: one of the many factors that may reduce drug waste from single-dose vials used for exact weight or BSA (body surface area) based dosing.
Biodiversity loss: importance, challenges and opportunities as viewed by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services are summarized in the most recent IPBES report (assessment of the sustainable use of wild species; July 2022) … reflections also for the pharmaceutical community, that must lead to concrete actions.
We were delighted to host, in June, at the school of Pharmacy Lille UFR3S, Dr. István KÖTELES, International coordinator for the Faculty of Pharmacy at Semmelweis University (Budapest). During the meeting, the S-DISCO master program was presented by Dr Christophe Furman. Bachelor students will be invited to apply for the S-DISCO program. Next year we […]
Last week the Pharmacy Institute of the University of Groningen invited the rector with delegation from Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung Indonesia. During the meeting the S-DISCO master program was presented by the program director prof Frank Dekker. Medicine waste is a huge issue in Indonesia and there is currently little attention for eco-toxicity in the pharmacy […]
“Our ambition is clear: first, to provide all patients across Europe with timely and equal access to affordable, high-quality, safe and green medicines.” In her speech at the Medicines for Europe 2022 Annual Conference, EU Commissioner Stella Kyriakides recognizes the crucial importance of sustainable medicines. S-DISCO strongly endorses this ambition, not only in Europe, but […]
Yesterday, representatives of the consortium partners have joined in Ghent to prepare for the arrival of the first generation of S-DISCO students in September.
Global climate change is real. More than ever, innovative ideas are needed to reintegrate CO2 into bioeconomy to ensure sustainable energy and material sources for the next generations. The research of Sandy explores microorganisms that are able to utilize CO2 for the production of high-value-added chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Those microorganisms, however, are not yet able […]
After the second round of applications (deadline April 30 2022), we are happy to announce that the total number of applications has increased to 124, from which a selection will be allowed to start in September 2022. We look forward to welcoming the first group of students! Applications for the next academic year (2023-2024) will […]
The production of medicines is currently very polluting. A pharmaceutical company produces on average no less than 25 to 100 times the weight of the pill in waste. This must and can be done differently, believes biotechnologist Gerrit Poelarends of the University of Groningen. Read the full article using the link provided.
Are you interested in drugs and drug development? If yes it seems that sustainable drug discovery might be your track to success! Several sustainable and economical tools can be used in drug development and discovery. An example of such an approach has been published also by partners from Medial University of Gdańsk. A novel, effective […]
Attention S-DISCO community! We would like to point your attention to this interesting learning opportunity. In the context of the European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases (European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases - EJP RD), the Rare Diseases Foundation, ERN Ithaca and ERN Genturis have co-developed the MOOC "Diagnosing Rare Diseases: from the Clinic to […]
A clean, safe, and efficient method for the N-carboxyalkylation of lactams has been recently published by our partners from ULille. The three-component coupling of the substrate, carbon dioxide and an alkyl halide, has been developed as a green alternative to phosgene and chloroformates, and takes place at ambient temperature and low pressure of CO2. This […]
In the first round, out of the 110 applications received, 23 students were selected. All applicants have received a notification of (non-)acceptance to the program. Congratulations to the selected students! The second round of applications (self-funded only) is open until April 30th, good luck to those applying!
During the first application round (deadline 28th of February), we received 110 applications (Erasmus Mundus scholarship as well as self-funded students). All students will be informed about the outcome of the first evaluation in the first week of March. Good luck to all of you! From today, also the second application round is opened, which […]
The consortium published a perspective in the Journal ‘Medicine in Drug Discovery’, in which they point to the global increase in the use of medicines and its long-term impact on the ecosystem and our health. Ten principles of sustainability are proposed to be applied in drug discovery. According to the consortium, sustainability should play an […]
The S-DISCO programme originates from longstanding informal discussions between some of the partners on the need to train students in drug discovery, the challenging phase in the life cycle of a medicine that precedes first-in-human studies and clinical development. The programme is unique in that it will pay notable attention to sustainability, an aspect that […]
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