By NIPTE

The National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Education (NIPTE) is pleased to welcome Virginia Commonwealth University, through its College of Engineering, as its newest member. The college’s nomination was sponsored by Rutgers University and the Board of Directors voted for its admission on June 7, 2021. VCU membership is a pivotal part of the NIPTE collaborative agenda along with current member institutions comprised of top schools of pharmacy, chemical engineering and medicine.

VCU Engineering’s membership will significantly increase and expand NIPTE’s scientific and technical capabilities, specifically in the area of advanced API manufacturing. Its existing collaborations with key industrial and federal partners will substantially contribute to NIPTE’s strategy and advocacy efforts. “Several years ago, the Medicines for All Institute at the VCU College of Engineering began working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with a goal of increasing access to  medicines for the treatment of HIV, malaria and tuberculosis by developing more cost effective methods for the production of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). More recently, we have applied these same principles to address the global supply chain vulnerability for essential medicines highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are delighted to partner with NIPTE and to collaborate with others working on such important efforts,” said B. Frank Gupton, Ph.D., CEO, Medicines for All; Floyd D. Gottwald, Jr. Chair in Pharmaceutical Engineering; professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering.

“We are happy to welcome VCU colleagues to NIPTE and look forward to collaborating with them on various projects,” said Vadim J. Gurvich, Ph.D., executive director of NIPTE and research associate professor at the University of Minnesota.