Advanced Drug Delivery & Drug Targeting

This course is hosted once per three years in Groningen (UMCG). If the course is not hosted in Groningen, the course takes place in Utrecht or Leiden. 

In recent years, new chemical and biotechnological entities have been developed and several of these compounds have already entered the stage of preclinical and clinical development. In the development of new products, one of the main scientific challenges is to deliver the drug in a controlled way at the desired site of action.

The Advanced Drug Delivery & Drug Targeting course will be given by experts in the fields of:
• Drug formulation and delivery via various routes of administration
• Targeting drugs to the site of action
• The use of cell culture systems in the design of novel drug delivery systems
• Vaccine and protein delivery by the parenteral, mucosal and dermal route
• Translation of a concept to a product

This course will provide an in-depth overview of the newest strategies and achievements in the drug delivery and targeting field. Particular emphasis will be given to the delivery of macromolecules, including vaccines, proteins and genetic material. In addition, the use of cell culture systems and in vivo models in the development of drug delivery systems will be thoroughly discussed. The participants will work in groups on assignments in which they will address various issues relevant to the development of therapeutic strategies employing drug delivery and drug targeting technologies. Online computer facilities are available throughout the course for the assignments and for preparing the oral presentations that accompany the assignments.

PhD students whose research or research interests lie in the area of new technologies facilitating drug distribution, delivery, release, and effectiveness.